Message for THE LORD S DAY MORNING, August 26, 2012 Message 15 in Daniel Sermon Series Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister The Warring Kings of The North and South Message 15 in Daniel Sermon Series Daniel 11:1-35 NKJV As we continue with our study of the Book of Daniel, please turn with me to Daniel the eleventh chapter. Before we get started I have to admit something to you that you will rarely hear any preacher admit and that is this: This eleventh chapter of Daniel is very confusing to me. In fact, I don t understand a lot of it. And I know I m not alone! As you are going to see, it is undoubtedly one of, if not the most complex chapters in the Book of Daniel. But one thing I have learned in our study of Daniel as well as our 18 month study of the Book of Revelation is this: You don t have to understand everything to appreciate it. Complex chapters like Daniel 11 are in the Bible for a reason, otherwise God would not have inspired Daniel to write it. When I come to difficult passages like Daniel 11, I want someone to explain it to me in plain, simple English so I can understand it. I believe you probably feel the same way. While we certainly won t understand everything there is to know about this eleventh chapter of Daniel, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will give us a basic understanding of what it is about. For now, let s just read VERSES 1-4. 1 Daniel 11:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) 2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these. P R A Y E R *************************************************************************************** AN OVERVIEW OF DANIEL 11:1-35 In order to gain a better understanding of these first thirty five verses of Daniel 11, let me give you a general overview. If your Bible has a book mark ribbon place that ribbon here in Daniel 11. If your Bible doesn t have a marker ribbon insert your thumb or your bulletin in Daniel chapter 11, and turn with me in your Bibles to the page between where the Old Testament ends and the New Testament begins. In other words between the end of Malachi and the beginning of Matthew. If your Bible is like mine there is one blank page separating the Old and New Testaments. Hold that one blank sheet between your fingers like this. (demonstrate) This one page represents approximately 400-450 years. This period is often called the SILENT years or the Inter-Testamental Period. The reason it is called the silent years is because during this time there were no PROPHETS, nor were there any PROPHECIES given by God. But though the voice of God was silent during those years, the hand of God was actively directing the course of events that occurred during those 4+ centuries.
Now what happened during those 400-450 450 years? Well I m glad you asked! This is where Daniel chapter 11 comes in. As we go back to Daniel chapter 11 now I want to share with you two things that would characterized those years of silence. First of all I. It Would Be A Time of Great CONFLICT 1. Throughout our study of Daniel we have been given three visions regarding various Gentile empires that would arise over the course of history, leading up to the return of Christ. * First in DANIEL 2 there was Nebuchadnezzar s dream of The Giant Image made of various kinds of metal; The head of gold representing Babylon. The chest and arms of silver representing Mede- Persia. The belly and thighs of bronze representing Greece. And the legs of iron and the feet partly of iron and clay representing the old Roman Empire and the future Roman empire that will arise in the last days. *Then in Daniel 7 there was Daniel s vision of The Four Beasts. Like Nebuchadnezzar s dream, Daniel s vision of the four beasts represented those same empires. The first was like a lion with eagle s wings representing Babylon. The second was like a bear raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth representing the Mede- Persian Empire.
The third beast was like a leopard with four wings on its back representing the Greek Empire. And the t fourth beast was the dreadful ten-horned beast that didn t look like anything Daniel had ever seen, representing the Roman Empire. And remember Daniel saw a little horn coming up on that beast s head that had a face like a man and spoke pompous words. That represented the future Roman Empire that has yet to emerge. *Then in Daniel 8 remember Daniel s vision of A Ram being attacked by the one-horned Goat? The Ram represented the Mede-Pe Persian Empire. And the goat that crushed the Ram represented the Greek Empire. 2. Now what do all these visions have to do with Daniel 11? Actually they have a lot to do with it! You see, Daniel 11 is the detailed account of all these conflicts between these empires and their various off-spring. In Daniel 11 we see these various empires for the first time without all the imagery. No giant image of metal No strange-looking beasts.no ram and goat.just KINGS and KINGDOMS in conflict with one another. 3. Chapter 11 begins with Darius, King of the Mede-Persian Empire in power. Darius was the one who had been tricked by his own political advisors into having Daniel thrown into the den of lions in Daniel chapter 6. Daniel tells King Darius in v. 2 Behold three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all, by his strength through his riches he will stir up all against the realm of Greece.
Just as Daniel prophesied, history tells us four kings followed Darius: King Cambyses, King Pseudo-Smerdis, King Darius Hystaspes (HISS-TOP TOP-US) and King Xerxes (who was also known as King Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther.) And just as Daniel prophesied King Xerxes or Ahasuerus tried to mount a military campaign against Greece and failed. 4. In verse 3 Daniel prophesied who would defeat King Xerxes and bring an end to the Persian rule. v.3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. Who would this mighty King be? None other than ALEXANDER the GREAT. 5. We have already learned in our study of Daniel that after conquering the world and establishing Greece as the world super-power Alexander died at the young age of 32. Daniel prophesies in verse 4 that because Alexander would have no posterity, meaning, no sons to inherit his throne, the Greek empire would be divided toward the four winds. Just as Daniel prophesied, history tells us upon Alexander s death, the Greek empire was divided up into four territories, each territory ruled by one of Alexander s top four military generals: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy. 6. Those last two Generals are key figures here in Daniel 11. Seleucus was the King of the North or SYRIA. Ptolemy was the King of the South or EGYPT.
Syria and Egypt would become the two world super-powers with Egypt ( the king of the South ) being the stronger of the two. Verses 5-35 5 give us a prophetical view of the back and forth war that would go on between these two powers for over 200 years. These wars between the North and South had a little bit of everything. From Kings giving their daughters to the opposing King in exchange for a short-term peace agreement to a King trading his old wife in for a newer model. And this is to even mention the time the King of the North attacked the King of the South with an army consisting of 73,000 men, 5,000 calvary, and a herd of 73 elephants as battering rams. Now this on-going battle between these Kings of the North and South would be absolutely meaningless to us were it not for one thing. ISRAEL, the glorious land as it is called later in this 11 th Chapter was caught right in the middle of this war. Every time the King of the North (Syria) attacked the King of the South (Egypt) his army had to march right through Israel to get there. And every time the King of the South would attack the King of the North his armies would have to march across Israel to get there. I mean, can you imagine Canada and Mexico being involved in an on-going war for over 200 years and traipsing back and forth across America to fight each other? 7. When you get down to verses 20,21 there is a very noticeable transition: There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom, but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty, but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
8. Who is this mysterious man? We met him earlier in our study in Daniel 8. He is Antiochus Epiphanes, the Antichrist of the Old Testament. Remember this is the vile man who would sacrifice a pig in the Temple in Jerusalem and spray its blood all over the Temple walls and floors. This is the vile man who had two mothers pushed off the top of the wall in Jerusalem with their murdered babies tied around their necks because they disobeyed Antiochus order not to circumcise their male babies. 9. You know when you are watching a movie and there is this awful, evil character who has hurt or killed lots of people, and you re sitting there thinking, I wish somebody would take that guy out! (You know, that s the Christian thing to do!) Well thankfully, Daniel lets us know somebody would eventually take Antiochus Epiphanes out. Notice VERSES 33, 34... 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 10. What Daniel is prophesying is truly one of the most thrilling moments in history. In time a band of Jewish men called the Maccabeas would grow tired of the way Antiochus Epiphanes treated the Jewish people. The Maccabeas would hide out in caves just outside Jerusalem and every time Antiochus and his troops would go out to wreak havoc on another village in Israel, the courageous Maccabeas would swarm all over him and thwart the attack. Finally the stalwart Jewish patriot, Judas Maccabeus, led the revolt that brought Antiochus Epiphanes down for good. You notice Daniel says in v. 34, they shall be aided with a little help. Who would come to the aid of the Maccabeas? None other than the ROMANS.
Now unless you are an ancient history buff or have an interest in ancient warfare, the information Daniel gives us in verses 1-35 1 probably doesn t mean a whole lot to you. But what if I told you no less than 135 prophecies are contained in these first t thirty five verses and all of them were fulfilled to the T. T. You see, if Daniel was a biblical history book and recorded all these things after after they happened, that would be one thing. But Daniel by the inspiration of God s Holy Spirit, recorded all these events BEFORE THEY EVER HAPPENED.and history shows that everything Daniel recorded in VERSES 1-35 1 happened exactly as God said it would. Isn t God amazing!!! But there is one other thing to note about that 400-450 450 year silent period. Not only would it be A TIME OF GREAT CONFLICT.. II. It Would Be A Time of Great CHANGE 1. When the Old Testament ends PERSIA was in power. When the New Testament begins ROME is in power. Now why is that significant? It is significant because Rome had a very barbaric means of executing people called crucifixion. This form of execution was foreign to the Babylonians, the Mede-Persians and the Greeks. You see, by God s divine hand the ROMANS were in the right place at the right time in history for Jesus to die in the manner the prophets spoke of over 700 years earlier. 2. There is something else. When the Old Testament ended the TEMPLE in Jerusalem was still the primary center of worship for the Jewish people. But when the New Testament begins, much of the Jewish worship took place in SYNAGOGUES that were built in many local communities throughout Israel. Think how many times Jesus taught people in the synagogues.
3. Also during those silent years a number of religious sects had arisen in Israel such as the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Herodians and the Zealots. These groups, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees would prove to be constant thorns thorns-- --in in-the flesh to Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. 4. Something else that changed during those silent years was the formation of the Jewish SANHEDRIN, a governing body of 70 Chief Priests and Scribes who wrote and enforced the laws that governed the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin was the equivalent of our U.S. Supreme Court. The Pharisees and Sadducees sat in on these court proceedings to make sure their influence was felt by Israel s highest governing body. C O N C L U S I O N As I said at the very outset of this message, there s probably more about this ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF DANIEL we DON T understand than we DO understand. But let me just say this in closing. When you look at all the things Daniel prophesied about those 400-450 450 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments YEARS OF CONFLICT, YEARS OF CHANGE, you can see the mighty hand of God at work as He configured all the key players into position who would ultimately play a key role in Christ s sacrifice on the cross of Calvary that would bring salvation to the world. And the same God who orchestrated all the world events that would bring to you and me the gift of eternal life, is now orchestrating the events that will bring world history to its climactic conclusion, as we will see in the remainder of our study of Daniel.