BATTLE BETWEEN KINGS (11)

7/17/22

BATTLE BETWEEN THE KINGS

DANIEL 11:36-45

PRAY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

READ TEXT DANIEL 11:36-45

ILLUSTRATION :

WAR… WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR??

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…..

WAR… MEANS TEARS TO THOUSANDS OF MOTHERS EYES…

WHEN THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS … GO OFF TO FIGHT… AND LOSE THEIR LIVES.

WAR… WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR??

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…..

INTRO :

DANIEL… IS THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK… IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE SIXTH CENTURY BC…. IT RECORDS THE EVENTS OF HIS LIFE… AND THE VISIONS HE SAW… FROM THE TIME OF HIS EXILE IN 605… UNTIL THE THIRD YEAR OF KING CYRUS… 536.

DANIEL’S NAME MEANS…. GOD IS MY JUDGE….

HE WAS A YOUNG MAN… OF NOBLE BLOOD… WHO WAS EXILED FROM JUDAH… DURING THE TIME OF…. KING JEHOIAKIM… 609 - 597…. AND HE LIVED AT THE BABYLONIAN COURT.

AFTER THE FALL OF THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE…. HE SERVED THE MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE THAT SUCCEEDED IT.

EXPLANATION :

THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS A BOOK OF TWO HALVES….

THE FIRST HALF DEALS WITH THE EXPERIENCES OF DANIEL … AS A JEW… LIVING IN EXILE… IN BABYLON…..

THE SECOND HALF…. IS AN ACCOUNT OF HIS EXTRAORDINARY VISIONS… AND THE STORIES AND VISIONS COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER.

WE MUST REMEMBER…. THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS FILLED WITH PROPHETIC LANGUAGE.

DANIEL SEE’S VISIONS AND HAS DREAMS….

0F WORLD SYSTEMS AND KINGDOMS..IN THE FUTURE…. AND HE TELLS US HOW THESE FUTURE KINGDOMS AND WORLD SYSTEMS WILL WAGE BATTLE WITH EACH OTHER…. IN THE FUTURE…..

CHAPTER ELEVEN…. MAKES CLEAR… THE… BATTLE BETWEEN THE KINGS…. AS GOD RAISES UP KINGS AND KINGDOMS…

HE WILL ALSO….TAKE DOWN KINGS AND KINGDOMS…

ITS ALL FOR HIS DIVINE PURPOSE AND HIS DIVINE PLAN.

THESE WARS…. THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE KINGS WILL BE EXTREMELY HORRIFIC.

IT’S NO WONDER THAT THESE VISIONS AND DREAMS MADE DANIEL SICK FOR THREE WEEKS…. CAN YOU IMAGINE…GOD SHOWING YOU GLIMPSES OF THE FUTURE

THAT IS CATASTROPHIC…. WITH NATIONS IN CONFLICT…AND THE FINAL BATTLES LEADING UP TO DESTRUCTION….I WOULD BE SICK ALSO.

INTERROGATIVE :

SO… WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE TEXT CONCERNING THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE KINGS??

WE LEARN… THAT GOD HAS DECLARED… IN HIS WORD… CONCERNING THE END OF KINGDOMS… THAT… THEY SHALL SURELY COME TO PASS…

BUT WE ARE ENCOURAGED… BECAUSE…

GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER TIME… PLACES… EMPIRES… AND HISTORY.

WE LEARN… IN THE EARLY VERSUS OF CHAPTER ELEVEN… DANIEL GIVES GREAT DETAIL DESCRIBING THESE KINGS WHO WILL RISE AND FALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

VERSUS 1-2… DESCRIBES THE 4 PERSIAN KINGS…

VERSUS 3-4… TELLS US ABOUT THE MIGHTY KING OF GREECE… ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

VERSUS 5-20… IS ABOUT THE KINGS OF SYRIA AND EGYPT… HOW THEY BATTLE EACH OTHER FOR DOMINANCE.

VERSUS 21-35… DESCRIBES… ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES 4TH… WHO USES HIS CRAFTINESS… FLATTERY AND INTRIGUE TO CAPTURE POWERFUL STRONGHOLDS.

HE IS AN EVIL SYRIAN KING…HE WILL DESECRATE THE TEMPLE…

HE WILL MURDER MANY JEWS… BUT THOSE WHO SURVIVE… WILL BE MADE PURE UNTIL THE TIME OF THE END.

ALL OF THIS LEADS TO MY 3 TRUTHS I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU….AMEN?

FIRST TRUTH… THE WICKEDNESS OF THE ANTICHRIST… 11:36-39

WE ARE IN DEEP WATERS NOW YALL….

SOME BELIEVE THESE VERSUS ARE REFERENCING ANTIOCHUS 4TH…

SINCE THERE IS NO CLEAR CUT CHANGE IN 11:36… SOME THINK THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF ANTIOCHUS…..BUT…. THERE IS NO REFERENCE OR EVIDENCE THAT… ANTIOCHUS EXALTS AND MAGNIFIED HIMSELF ABOVE EVERY GOD.

THE KING MENTIONED HERE….IN VERSUS 36-44… IS THE FUTURE ANTICHRIST… THE LITTLE HORN OF CHAPTER 7:8 AND 20..25..

HE IS ALSO THE PRINCE WHO IS TO COME… CHAPTER 9:26.

HE IS THE WILLFUL KING… DOING AS HE PLEASES…

HE WILL EXALT HIMSELF… AND BLASPHEME GOD… SPEAKING HORRIFIC THINGS AGAINST THE GOD OF GODS….

IN THE TEXT… REVELATION 13:5-6… TELLS US…

AND HE WAS GIVEN A MOUTH… SPEAKING GREAT THINGS AND BLASPHEMIES, AND HE WAS GIVEN AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE FOR FORTY-TWO MONTHS….

THEN… HE OPENED HIS MOUTH IN BLASPHEMY AGAINST GOD… TO BLASPHEME HIS NAME… HIS TABERNACLE AND THOSE WHO DWELL IN HEAVEN.

HE WILL PROSPER UNTIL THE INDIGNATION IS FINISHED….

HE IS OPPOSED TO CHRIST… SHOWING NO REGARD FOR THE DESIRE OF WOMEN… REFERENCING … THE LONGING OF JEWISH WOMEN TO GIVE BIRTH TO THE MESSIAH…

THIS ANTICHRIST… THE LITTLE HORN… IS A WICKED AND EVIL ONE…

EVIL BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION….

HE WILL HONOR THE GOD OF FORTRESS… MILITARY MIGHT…

SPENDING HIS WEALTH TO INCREASE HIS MILITARY POWER…

HE WILL HONOR AND REWARD THOSE WHO SUBMIT TO HIS AUTHORITY….

MAKING THEM SUB RULERS OVER CONQUERED TERRITORIES…

THE WICKEDNESS OF THE ANTICHRIST….

SECOND TRUTH… THE WARFARE OF THE ANTICHRIST… 11:40-44

DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION… THE ANTICHRIST WILL ENGAGE IN WORLD WAR.

THIS WORLD WAR WILL BE… UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS WORLD WARS…

AS HORRIFIC AS THEY WERE… THEY WILL NOT COMPARE TO THE DESTRUCTION AND DEVASTATION OF THIS WAR….

AT THE TIME OF THE END… THERE WILL BE A MAJOR BATTLE….

ARMIES WILL COME FROM THE NORTH…AND… THE SOUTH TO ATTACK THIS POWERFUL RULER…. BUT HE WILL STILL BE SUCCESSFUL…

ENTERING COUNTRIES…. CONQUERING THEM… SWEEPING THROUGH THEM LIKE A FLOOD…

HE WILL ENTER ISRAEL… THE BEAUTIFUL LAND… IGNORING THE NATIONS THAT ARE IN ALLIANCE WITH HIM… BUT HE CONQUERS OTHERS…

INCLUDING EGYPT… LIBYA AND SUDAN…

NEWS FROM THE EAST AND NORTH WILL TROUBLE TROUBLE … AND INFURIATE THE ANTICHRIST…. HE WILL GO FORTH… TO DESTROY THOSE WHO CHALLENGE HIS AUTHORITY… PURSUING A COURSE OF GENOCIDAL WAR AGAINST HIS ENEMIES… ESPECIALLY MANY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

IN THE TEXT… ZECH 13:8-9 ….

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASSIN THE LAND… SAYS THE LORD.

THAT TWO THIRDS IN IT… SHALL BE CUT OFF AND DIE… BUT ONE THIRD SHALL BE LEFT IN IT.

I WILL BRING THE ONE THIRD THROUGH THE FIRE… WILL REFINE THEM AS SILVER IS REFINED…AND TEST THEM… AS GOLD IS TESTED.

THEY WILL CALL ON MY NAME… AND I WILL ANSWER THEM…

I WILL SAY… THIS IS MY PEOPLE… AND…EACH ONE WILL SAY…

THE LORD… IS MY GOD.

ILLUSTRATION :

THERE WAS A TIME… WHEN WAR… WAS A MAN’S FINITE MEANS OF OBTAINING OBJECTIVES…BUT…

WITH THE ADVENT OF THE ATOM…. AND NUCLEAR WEAPONRY…

MODERN WAR IS NOW… AN… INFINITE… END IN ITSELF… AS THE END OF EVERYTHING AS WE KNOW IT…

WAR… IS THE GRUESOME PROSPECT THAT AWAITS US… WHO SURVIVES.

THE WICKEDNESS OF THE ANTICHRIST…

THE WARFARE OF THE ANTICHRIST….

THIRD TRUTH…THE DEFEAT OF THE ANTICHRIST…. 11:45

THE ANTICHRIST WILL ESTABLISH HIS MILITARY CAPITAL IN ISRAEL….

AROUND JERUSALEM… THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS OPPONENTS… AT FIRST…

WILL FIGHT EACH OTHER… AND THEN THEY WILL JOIN FORCES AT MOUNT MEGIDDO….

AS THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH TO BEGIN THE CAMPAIGN OF ARMAGEDDON…

IN THE TEXT… REV 16:13-14… 16.. DECLARES…

AND I SAW THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS… LIKE FROGS… COMING OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE DRAGON… OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE BEAST… AND…

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE FALSE PROPHET…..

FOR THEY ARE SPIRITS OF DEMONS… PERFORMING SIGNS… WHICH GO OUT TO THE KINGS OF THE EARTH AND OF THE WHOLE WORLD…

TO GATHER THEM TO THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY.

AND THEY GATHERED THEM TOGETHER TO THE PLACE CALLED IN HEBREW… ARMAGEDDON….

I KNOW… I KNOW… THIS IS VERY ALARMING….

NO WONDER DANIEL WAS SICK FOR THREE WEEKS AFTER SEEING ALL THIS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION….THAT IS TO COME.

REMEMBER… JESUS TOLD US THESE THINGS WOULD TAKE PLACE…

HE SAID …THERE WOULD BE WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS….

THESE ARE THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS….

BUT I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU…. THAT… AS BIG AND AS BAD AS THIS KING IS… I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND… THERE IS ANOTHER KING…AND THIS KING… IS BIGGER AND BADDER THAN ALL OF THE OTHER KINGS….

IN THE TEXT…. IT TELLS US…

AT THAT TIME… WHEN THE NATION OF ISRAEL CALLS ON THE MESSIAH JESUS CHRIST… HE WILL RETURN… TO DELIVER THEM… AND…

THE ANTICHRIST’S REIGN WILL COME TO AN END… AND NO ONE WILL HELP HIM.

BROTHER PREACHER… YOU SAID… YOU WANT US TO BE ENCOURAGED…

BUT ALL THE STUFF ABOUT EVIL KINGS…WARS…. AND END TIMES… GOT ME SHOOK UP!!

HOW CAN I BE ENCOURAGED?

I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED….

WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND… GOD RAISES UP KINGS AND KINGDOMS…

GOD TAKES DOWN KINGS AND KINGDOMS…. SO HE CAN SHOW HIS POWER!!!

WAR HAS BEEN WITH US THROUGH HISTORY…AND THE BIBLE CONFIRMS ITSELF….

THE PROPHECIES OF THE PROPHETS PROVE THE BIBLE IS TRUE….

WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND… NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS APPEAR…

GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER TIME…. PLACE…. AND HISTORY!!!

KINGS WILL COME… AND… KINGS WILL GO….

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER KING!!

HE CAME FROM GLORY PAST… TO TRAVEL FORTY AND TWO GENERATIONS…

TO SET A VIRGIN'S WOMB ON FIRE… HE TOOK OFF GLORY… TO PUT ON FLESH…

HE WAS BORN IN A MANGER… ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES…

HE GREW IN WISDOM AND IN STATURE….

AND HE CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE…

TO GIVE SIGHT TO THE BLIND… TO HEAL THE SICK AND COMFORT THE BROKEN HEARTED…..

HE UPSET THE AUTHORITIES SO MUCH… THEY PLOTTED TO KILL HIM.

HE WAS CHARGED WITH FALSE CLAIMS… FOUND GUILTY… AND SENTENCED TO DEATH… BY WAY OF THE CROSS….

HE WAS BRUISED… BATTERED… AND SCARED…

HE WAS MADE TO CARRY THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS TO THE PLACE CALLED THE SKULL… IT WAS THERE… WHERE THEY NAILED HIM TO THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS….

THEY STRETCHED HIM WIDE… AND THEY HUNG HIM HIGH…

HE HANG ON THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS UNTIL HE DIED….

HE DIED … UNTIL THE EARTH ROCKED AN REELED…

HE DIED UNTIL MIDNIGHT MET NOON DAY…

HE DIED UNTIL THE STARS FELL FROM THE SKY…

HE DIED… AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ALL OVER FOR US….

BUT THAT’S NOT THE END OF THE STORY….

THEY TOOK HIM FROM THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS AND PLACED HIM IN A BORROWED TOMB

IT LOOKED LIKE ALL WAS LOST….AS HE LAID THERE DEAD…

ALL NIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT…

HE LAID THERE DEAD ALL DAY SATURDAY…

HE LAID THERE DEAD ALL NIGHT….

BUT IT WAS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING… WHEN HE GOT UP…

WHEN HE GOT UP… HE HAD ALL POWER IN HIS HANDS….

LIFT UP YE HEADS OH YE GATES…. AND BE LIFTED UP… AND THE KING OF GLORY SHALL COME IN… WHO IS THE KING OF GLORY???

HIS NAME IS JESUS…. JESUS…. JESUS…..

AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE WILL BOW…

AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS….

THAT JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!!!

THE WICKEDNESS OF THE ANTICHRIST…

THE WARFARE OF THE ANTICHRIST….

THE DEFEAT OF THE ANTICHRIST…. AMEN… AMEN… AMEN