Worship is Warfare (Part 2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Wars and rumors of wars. Isn’t this the world in which we live today? A world that is at war - nation against nation, people versus people, company versus company. Last week we saw in Daniel 10 that though there is a physical battle taking place today, the real conflict is a spiritual conflict that we rarely are able to see. We live in a world that is at war. Light against darkness. Good versus evil. The people of God against the people of man. Sometimes we see this cosmic conflict as clear as could be in front of our very eyes. Many of us are familiar with the Rwanda Genocide of nearly 30 years ago, but fewer of us are aware of a severe persecution that took place within the country nearly 20 years before under the rule of Idi Amin. This administration targeted not only political opponents but also Christian leaders and aimed for their extermination. One day government leaders came for a pastor named John. They put a gun to his ear, threw him into the back of a vehicle, and placed him on a bag of explosives. John prayed, believing this was going to be his last moment before he saw his Savior face to face… however, the soldiers took him out of the vehicle, assuming they had succeeded in intimidating him. These soldiers meant something for evil… but God intended it for good. The soldiers took John on Friday, 2 days later was Sunday. As pastor John arrived at the church, it was packed, in fact people were standing in the aisles because there weren’t enough seats in the church! News had gotten out about his encounter with the soldiers and they wanted to know what this man would say just days after escaping death.
Pastor John took the pulpit and spent the worship service pointing his congregation and guests to Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, and the hope of Christians. Church, even when we face opposition and persecution, we praise Jesus Christ because Jesus is always worthy and we are always needy! We saw this truth last week and we’ll see it again this morning as we look at Daniel 11. Now, how many of you have ever heard a sermon on Daniel 11 before? One commentator said that there is no way that this text can be a sermon! What a bummer that God’s inspired, authoritative, and living Word in Daniel 11 is treated as a history lesson and not the spiritual nourishment that it truly is. As one convicted from end to end that this is God’s Word and that it is all profitable, you’d better believe that we’re going to preach this text this morning. In Daniel 11 we’re going to see what we’ve seen in places like Daniel 2:21 and Daniel 4:34 that God is in control. God rules in the heavens. God is sovereign. He has a plan, even for wicked nations. He even has a plan for fallen sinners like you and me! This morning, while things might seem out of control, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and remember that there is a God who is seated on His throne with all authority and let’s worship Him as we study His Word.
2 Now I will tell you the truth. “Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
3 Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants.
4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.
20 “In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger or in battle.
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.
22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince.
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.
29 “At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time will not be like the first.
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.
31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.
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.
33 Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame, and they will be captured and plundered for a time.
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.
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 ancestors, 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 ancestors 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.
40 “At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.
41 He will also invade the beautiful land, and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of the Ammonites.
42 He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.
43 He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.
44 But reports from the east and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many.
45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
What on earth do we see going on here? We see many people and many battles throughout human history. We see evil on the rise. We see warfare. But what do we also see? A God who defeats His opponents and a God who somehow, someway, uses awful things to bring about something good - the salvation of His people! Let’s give God thanks for His power and provision this morning
Evil Is Powerful
Evil Is Powerful
Last week in chapter 10 of Daniel, we saw how these final 3 chapters are connected. Daniel 10 gives us the context of the vision as God sends this messenger to encourage Daniel in the midst of spiritual warfare. Daniel 11 gives us the content of the vision as we just saw, and chapter 12 next week will give us the conclusion of the vision and, ultimately, the conclusion of everything as our God wins. But in this vision and in this world, we see that there is a struggle taking place. There is a battle. There is warfare. The reason for this, in part, is because evil exists. Many have issues with the reality of evil - this is the problem of evil as its become to be known.
If God exists and if God is all-powerful and all-good then evil cannot exist
But evil does exist
Therefore, God is either not all-powerful, or all-good
If God is these things, and evil does exist, then God cannot exist
To many people, the reality of evil is proof that God does not really exist. We’ll see how the Bible resolves this so called problem, but even as believers, we know that evil does exist. Evil is powerful. Behind the earthly opponents we see, there is a greater, more powerful enemy. In our text, we see evil rulers and evil nations at work seeking to destroy God’s people and thwart God’s plan. Can you imagine being Daniel here? You’re near the end of your life and you are told that your people who just made it back home are going to be opposed by the kingdoms of Persia and Greece for hundreds and hundreds of years and many of them are going to lose their lives. This isn’t a very encouraging message, Daniel 11 doesn’t get much airtime and it’s definitely not one you’d add on your Hallmark Christmas Card. We see evil here - but it’s God’s Word and it’s important for us to understand what’s taking place, so let’s dive in and see the flow.
At the beginning we see a 4th king of Persia that will be richer than the others and go to war with the kingdom of Greece - who could this be? Read the book of Esther and we see this man, his historical name is Xerxes. If you’ve heard of Leonidas and his 300 spartans, they fought against this man - Xerxes. One of the most powerful men in the world is given 1 verse in this passage. He goes to war with the Greeks and the various Greek cities came together to defeat the Persians and eventually they united and the Greek empire, under Alexander the Greet, conquered much of the known world as we talked about in Daniel 8. Alexander dies and his empire is divided not to his sons, but to 4 generals. What do we see in Daniel 11? We see that God tells Daniel what will happen hundreds of years before it happens! In fact, some more liberal scholars believe that Daniel couldn’t have written this because of how accurate everything happens in this chapter. Can you believe that? Daniel couldn’t have written this because it is TOO ACCURATE! That’s absurd because we know that it is God who inspired His Word through people like Daniel to write what they wrote. What we could say is this: Biblical Prophecy is often History Written in Advance. What happens in this text actually happens because God said that it would! This is the power of our God.
Next we see a civil war between several of the kings of this former Greek Empire. A king of the south and a king of the north, who are these people? The king of the south are the kings of Egypt and the kings of the north are the kings that rule in Antioch, or the Seleucids. Here we see a history lesson for many verses and this civil war of sorts takes place between these rival kings. You have the Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt and the Antiochus dynasty of sorts in Antioch at war. Eventually in verse 21 we see a familiar person ascend to the spotlight, Antiochus Epiphanes IV from chapter 8. This man claimed to be God in the flesh. He gains power by making promises to people and sure enough, he ascends to the throne even though he didn’t deserve it. That never happens in our world, does it? People that ascend to power by making promises that they may or may not keep? Isn’t this what evil does? Evil is so fixed on power that it will try and capture it regardless of the cost! Evil is powerful. Sadly, this evil king comes to Israel to gain support in his efforts against the Ptolemy’s of Egypt and Israel happily sides with Antiochus as he seeks to bring the Greek empire back together. However, he fails as verse 25 tells us. God is working out His plan here. There are alliances, battles, powers, and people who think that they have all power, but they don’t. God is the one in control.
10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.
1 A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses.
Evil is powerful but these kings and nations don’t have all power. Antiochus is defeated and comes back to the Israelites with plans to wage war again with Egypt and he does this in verse 29… but again he is defeated as the Romans side with the Egyptians to defeat this evil ruler. We read that a Roman general drew a circle in the sand and wouldn’t let Antiochus leave until he officially surrendered. Do you think this man was embarrassed? Humiliated? He withdraws and we see that he rages war against the holy covenant. What takes place? Go back to Daniel 8 and we talked about this - in December of 168 BC his army comes into Jerusalem and desecrates the temple. He set up a statue of Zeus in the temple of God. He slaughtered a pig on the altar. The Jewish people were left with a decision: Bend the knee to Antiochus or die. “Your choice was to live a pagan or die an Israelite.” Dale Davis.
Antiochus not only profaned the temple and abolished the sacrifices in the temple… but he ordered any Jewish person reading the law of God to be killed. Jewish boys were called to be circumcised on the 8th day… any Jewish boy who was circumcised was to be hung publicly along with their family - even boys as young as a week old. This man was evil and evil is powerful! Sadly, many of the people went right along with this as well as they were corrupted by evil. But not everyone - some who knew God remained strong and took action.
Not everyone gave in. This is a long way down the line. Daniel knows that things will be hard. Daniel knows many will be led astray… but he also knows that some will remain faithful and stand on God’s Word regardless of the cost. What would you do in this situation? This is Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, isn’t it? Bend the knee or die. Stop praying or die. How would you and I react in such a situation? We read in God’s Word that God’s people stand on His Word and take action because they know their God - in other words, there is fruit because they are connected to the root. In the face of evil, we must know God and take action. As you look at your life today at work, in your home, as you talk around others, is there tangible fruit that you know your God? That you are in Christ? What is the evidence? If we can’t see much evidence and fruit as those who enjoy much religious freedom in our current world, what do you think will happen whenever persecution arises in life? It’s one thing to worship when it’s convenient, but what about when it’s costly? Church, in an evil world, we must be people of action and people of the Word - regardless of the cost, because disobeying God carries with it an even greater cost.
All of this points us to the end of the chapter as Antiochus IV points us to a final king of evil. He will be worshipped as a god. He honors a god that his ancestors don’t even know - something Antiochus IV didn’t do so we know this is pointing is forward to the end of time. We see more evil and more war taking place… but even the end is appointed as this king of evil will meet his end, just as Antiochus met his end at the appointed time as well. Evil is powerful, but it is not all-powerful.
God Is All-Powerful
God Is All-Powerful
God alone is all-powerful. Not mostly powerful. Not mainly powerful. All powerful! Earthly kingdoms rise up, gain strength, attain popularity, but eventually they are broken and another kingdom comes onto the scene. We see this cycle over and over and we continue to see this today. Think of how quickly styles and brands change. One minute this thing is popular or trending and the next minute it’s “old news.” Facebook, which has over 3 billion users (nearly half the planet), is only 20 years old! Something that impacts over half the adults on our planet is relatively new. Things change quickly in this life… but God doesn’t. He stays the same. He won’t be overtaken by a new platform or a new style or a new power because He has all power.
How does the truth that God has all-power comfort you? To some this is a concerning truth that they wrestle with… but for Christians, this should be a pillow beneath our head to know that God has all-power. As you go throughout life and you suffer, isn’t it a comfort to know that God has all power and that your suffering doesn’t win? As you are opposed in life, isn’t it a comfort to know that God has all power and that so long as you trust in God and stand on His Word, you’ll be just fine? To our brothers and sisters in Christ in places where they suffer life and death level persecution, this is a glorious truth that is celebrated because it reminds them that God, not the government and not godless people, has all power and that God has a plan for each of them that is for His glory and their good. See, even with the darkness and evil and tragedies that we face in this life, we’re still on the path that God has for us. Think of Jesus - what was God’s plan for Jesus when He came to this earth? To live a sinless life and to die for sinners on the cross. This was the plan that Jesus humbly submitted to as He went to the cross and voluntarily gave up His life in our place. Do you see the darkness of the cross? Yet, do you see how God uses the cross to bring about something incredibly beautiful? God has a plan that is for His glory and the good of His people and often times that plan involves suffering for a period so that we enjoy salvation for eternity. God is so powerful that He uses bad things, even evil things, to bring about good things.
11 so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”
God works through His Word - He has done this historically and He continues to do this today. Our goal as a church is to pray that the Word of God would do the Work of God for the Glory of God. God has a plan in His Word - notice in our text we see words like decree, appoint, accomplish in our passage. God has a plan and He is in control. There are times where we can’t always trace His hand but we can always trust His heart as Romans 8:28 reminds us of God’s plan for His people!
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Even in the midst of this civil war and the persecution and the suffering and the evil that His people face in this vision that Daniel sees, we see that God allows this person and this power to be successful for a period of time (v. 36), only until a certain point - when the time of wrath is completed. Church, hear this, God has limited evil. Evil is not sovereign. Horrible things have happened and horrible things will happen, God’s people will suffer and it might seem like chaos has won, but this isn’t so. Antiochus doesn’t win. The final man of lawlessness doesn’t win. Satan doesn’t win. But it does appear that way sometimes. Consider again the cross of Christ. CS Lewis’ the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe chronicles this as Aslan, the king of Narnia, gives himself in the place of a boy in order to save him. The forces of evil celebrate and mock the seemingly defeated lion. The have succeeded, or so it seems. But Aslan roars back to life. This was planned. How does God address the problem of evil? By sending His Son who knew no sin to bear our sin and defeat our evil enemy
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
God allows evil to exist for a period of time… but God has limited evil. God is currently limiting evil as we see in Daniel 10-11 in this spiritual war taking place. And one day, God will end the existence of evil. Between this day and that day, in this fallen, broken, sinful world, there remains time for us to tell others of the salvation found exclusively in Jesus Christ, the destroyer of evil. Evil is powerful. God is greater.
As we saw in Revelation 12, the dragon is at war with those who keep the commands of God and who hold firmly the testimony about Jesus. This has been going on for thousands of years… but look at verse 45. Though battles might be lost and though the night might seem dark, we see the end. God sits on His throne and and as we read back in Daniel 7:26
26 But the court will convene, and his dominion will be taken away, to be completely destroyed forever.
Evil will be dealt with and destroyed
8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming.
Christian, there will be dark and difficult days ahead. There have been many dark and difficult days over the last 2000 years for believers all around the world. We should reasonably expect more of the same in the days to come because we see these cycles throughout history. Nation against nation. Worldview against worldview. Evil gaining power. People worshiping self instead of their Savior. But God has a plan. God has chosen this path for His glory and the good of His people. In this world we will have tribulation and trouble - and even if we have to face this final bit of tribulation, the tribulator is easily disposed of. Christian, we win.
God uses evil to bring about something good. Evil doesn’t surprise God. God does not react to it. God has a plan and evil is powerless to stop God’s perfect plan. At this point, we have to pause and ask the question: If God has a perfect plan and is all-powerful and truly in control and sovereign, then how do we square up the evil we see in our world and in our lives. Does the sovereignty of God make God the author of evil? By no means. One of my heroes, Charles Spurgeon, was accused often of not picking a side in this ancient debate - listen to what this man of God shared, “The system of truth is not one straight line but two. No man will ever get a right view of the Gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow, I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that it is not of him that will nor of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy. I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence, and yet I see, that I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no precedence of God over man’s actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into fatalism. That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our own weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other… These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity. They converge and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.”
What do we see in God’s Word? Yes, God has a perfect plan. Yes, God is in control. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, words like predestine and ordain, and decree, and appoint show up in Scripture and they show up in our text. We see that train track. AND we see that these wicked leaders in Daniel 11 are responsible for their sinful and evil actions. We are responsible for our sin today - not our spouse, not our children, not our parents, not God, we are. We are responsible to turn from that sin and to trust in Christ as Lord. Consider the story of Gideon and the Israelites against the Midianites in Judges 7 - we see that there were 32,000 soldiers and God commands Gideon to go from 32,000 eventually to 300 soldiers. God fights the battle. In fact, Gideon confesses that God won the battle for them. But those 300 soldiers had a job to do. So it was then, and so it is today. God has a plan, and God’s plan is for God’s people to share of God’s power for God’s glory and the good of those on this fallen planet. God has all-power. Not Nebuchadnezzar. Not Antiochus IV. Not Nero. Not Hitler. Not Putin. Not the United States. Not the Devil. God and God alone!
He is worthy of our worship - let’s look at several reasons why we praise our God
Why Do We Worship God?
Look In - We Fall Short
Everyone worships something because inside of ourselves we know that there is a void. We worship something to fill that void. Many, sadly, end up worshiping a version of themselves
Look Out - Evil is Working
This passage is full of evil people doing evil things. Persecuting the people of God and platforming their own prideful selves. The more we look around, the more we see the same, don’t we? Evil is working. Humans are choosing to do things that dishonor God. So, why do we worship? Because evil is at work. Because worship is a way that we declare war against these present powers of darkness. While our world blasphemes our God, we worship and glorify Him. While our world exalts self, we worship and humble ourselves. The more we look out at this fallen, messed up, broken world, the more our heart should break for those around us who do not yet know Christ - and we go to our God in worship and pray for their salvation
Look Up - God is Winning
Not only do we look in and see how we fall short and look out and see how broken our world is, we look up and we see that our God is still in control. This is difficult to see at times, especially in our suffering. We’re tempted to play the “why” game… but we’re not guaranteed to have those questions answered, God isn’t obligated to do so. We are guaranteed an answer to this question, though: How am I to glorify Jesus in this situation? Whenever we look up and “behold” our God on His throne, whenever we dive into God’s Word and see that He wins, the more we realize that with every situation in this life, God is using it for our ultimate good as we trust less in this world and more on Him. Even in difficulty, we look up and see God winning, reigning, and ruling. This is why we worship!
Stand Up - Our God Will Save
We know how it all ends, church. The kingdom of these evil nations and rulers will end. In fact, every earthly kingdom one day will end and be destroyed as Daniel 2 taught us… there is one kingdom that will never be destroyed and that is the kingdom of the Son of God. My question for you this morning, friend, is simply this: Are you a member of God’s Kingdom? If so, you are saved to serve and to stand. We are saved in order to serve our God and to stand boldly on His Word. How can we do this? Because we know that our God has saved us and that He will save us in the days to come. Jesus is coming back and when He returns, He isn’t returning as a lamb but as the roaring lion. He will return to save His saints and eliminate His enemies. So, church, we worship and we stand on God’s Word, because it’s the only hope we have in this life. God’s plan will come to pass. It is decreed. It is appointed. It will happen. But today there remains time for you to stand and trust in Jesus. Have you done so? If not, look to Scripture and look to this broken world. Where is your hope? There is no lasting hope apart from the Kingdom of God! If you have trusted in Christ, what are you doing today? We must be strong and take action. We must worship during this war… because God is worthy, we are needy, and the lost are in need of a remedy - His name is Jesus and we are saved to take His Gospel to our neighbors and the nations. FBC Salem, the lines are drawn - what will our response be? As for me and my house, we must serve the Lord!
We are saved to get to work and part of that work that God has saved us to is to worship Him.