Daniel 26: The Rise and Fall of Kingdoms

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here today! I’m Bill Connors, and I’m blessed to be the senior pastor for this wonderful church family of Eastern Hills. If you’re a guest or a visitor this morning, our hope is that you’ve been blessed so far by this church family as well, and we appreciate you being here, whether you’re a believer or are just checking out the Jesus and the church, whether you’re in the room or online. We’d like to be able to send you a note of thanks for your visit this morning, so if you wouldn’t mind getting us a little information, it would mean a lot to us. If you’re online, you can jump over to our I’m New page on the website or the app and fill out the contact card at the bottom. If you’re in the room, you can just fill out the Welcome card that you’ll find in the back of the pew in front of you. At the close of service, you can either drop it in the offering boxes by the doors, or if you would, you can bring it down to me here at the front, so I can say hello if I haven’t had the chance already this morning, and so I can give you a small gift to thank you for your visit. Thanks in advance for taking the time!

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Opening

Last week, we finished looking at the context in which Daniel received his fourth vision. Remember that at the beginning of chapter 10, he was confronted by a vision of the exalted Son of God in all His glory. This revelation overwhelmed him and left him unconscious, and last week, we read that the angel who would ultimately give him this fourth vision of the future (whom I believe to be Gabriel) woke him up and told Daniel about conflict that is operating in the spiritual realm. Daniel was again overwhelmed and speechless, and in reading the last part of chapter 10, we almost despair that the prophet would ever be strong enough to receive what he had asked for. But Daniel was strengthened by the Lord to see and understand the ongoing spiritual conflict taking place, the reality regarding the future of the Hebrew people that was going to be revealed. So we’ve read the context of this last vision.

This morning, we will begin to consider the content of this last vision. Our focal passage this morning is quite lengthy, and interestingly enough, God is mentioned only once, and even that one time He is the subject, not the object of the reference. The rest of today’s passage is a long apocalyptic vision, primarily about an ongoing conflict between the “king of the South” and the “king of the North.”

We will read 34 verses this morning, so please keep that in mind as we turn in our Bibles or Bible apps to Daniel 11. Please stand as you are able in honor of the declaration of the Word of God:

Daniel 11:2–35 CSB

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. 5 “The king of the South will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his. 6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times. 7 In the place of the king of the South, one from her family will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph. 8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, 9 who will enter the kingdom of the king of the South and then return to his own land. 10 “His sons will mobilize for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood, and will again wage war as far as his fortress. 11 Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy. 12 When the army is carried off, he will become arrogant and cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph. 13 The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies. 14 “In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their select troops will not be able to resist. 16 The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land with total destruction in his hand. 17 He will resolve to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him. He will give him a daughter in marriage to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or support him. 18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him. 19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more. 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. 25 “With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him. 26 Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. 27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land. 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.

PRAYER (Nancy King, Clark Family, grads)

In his commentary on the book of Daniel, theologian H.C. Leupold said of Daniel 11:

“This chapter might be treated in Bible classes. We do not see how it could be used for a sermon or for sermons.”

—H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Daniel

With all due respect to the late Mr. Leupold, I strenuously disagree. This chapter is the Word of God, and as we have seen through the earlier predictive prophecies in Daniel, the reading and exposition of this vision is useful for the edification of the church, because as we know:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 CSB

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So I want to ask the church four questions before we dive in:

Is Daniel chapter 11 Scripture? Yes.

Is it, therefore, inspired by God? Yes.

Is it, therefore, profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness? Yes!

And therefore, can Daniel 11 be used to edify believers, and prepare us for good works? Yes!

Certainly, these things can happen in the context of a Bible study. However, a large (perhaps the largest) part of my role is to declare the “whole plan (or counsel) of God,” as Paul said he had done with the Ephesians in Acts 20:27. So my role this morning is to declare to us the truth of Scripture, even though it’s a difficult passage to apply.

Gabriel starts this passage with his own declaration: “Now I will tell you the truth.” (Daniel 11:2a). He’s again referring to what is recorded in God’s “book of truth” that was referenced last week from Daniel 10:21. This is a metaphorical reference to God’s knowledge of all that has been, all that is, and all that will be. In response to Daniel’s fasting and mourning for his people, Gabriel is again going to show Daniel the future—both the future of the Jewish people, and the future of the world.

This vision has much in common with the vision that Daniel was given back in chapter 8, which had been given in around 550 BC. Since then, Daniel had seen the fall of Babylon as predicted in his first vision (as well as in the visions of both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar). He had been there for the rise of the Persian empire. He had certainly rejoiced when the Persian King Cyrus gave permission for the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. But now, that work had stalled and Daniel was left wondering about the fulfillment of the prophecy from chapter 8. We have to remember that today’s vision was given in about 536 or 535 BC, in the third year of Cyrus (10:1). Daniel’s been waiting for probably 15 years. So these two visions cover some of the same future for Daniel, and history for us. So I’ll refer to some of the things we’ve already learned in previous messages from this series.

BUT: the level of detail in the vision of chapter 11 is incredible! I don’t want this message to sound like a history lesson, but it’s in history that we have to start, because history proves that God told Daniel the future in great specificity WELL before the fact. And as we will see next week, some of that predictive future still has not occurred, so we should be watching for it.

So I’m going to run through the whole passage and its parallels in history. Then we’ll make application this morning. If you’re a note taker, I want to warn you that I’m not going to give any “points” until we get to the application. It’s going to be straight fulfillment of prophecy in history, and then application. And one more warning: this history part is going to feel like being sprayed with an historical firehose. It’s a lot.

But just because it’s a lot doesn’t mean that it’s not useful, and just because it might not be particularly “inspiring” doesn’t mean that it’s not “inspired.” Sinclair Ferguson said it really well:

Until we grasp that the inspiration of Scripture does not mean we will always be “inspired” when we read it, we will not make much headway as students of God’s Word.

—Sinclair Ferguson, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 12: Daniel

So can I just take a second and encourage you with one thing before we look at the passage itself? Sometimes doing Bible study is just hard work. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we should shy away from it. Don’t be afraid to do hard work and really give yourself some time in Bible study. Write things down. It might end up looking like semi-controlled chaos. Here’s a picture of one of the pages of my history notes for this sermon. It’s a mess. Look at cross-references in your Bibles and study Bible notes. Chase those things down and see the connections between passages in our Bibles. Be a student of Scripture.

With that said, I do want to express my thanks to the commentaries of Sinclair Ferguson, Daniel Akin, and Stephen Miller especially for their great explanation of this chapter, which helped me immensely as I studied it.

Prophecy fulfilled in history

Verses 2-4 parallel Daniel 8, but without the animal imagery. Verse two references three more kings of the Persian Empire, followed by a fourth of great wealth and antagonism against Greece. The three kings that followed Cyrus were his son Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius I Hystaspes (Darius the Great). The fourth king, who was exceedingly wealthy and executed a massive campaign against Greece, was Xerxes I, almost certainly the King Ahasuerus in the book of Esther. He ruled the Persian Empire from 486-465 BC, and his campaign against Greece ultimately failed, beginning the decline of the Persian Empire.

As promised by Gabriel in 10:20, once Persia declined, Greece rose up. Verse 3 refers to Alexander the Great, the conspicuous horn on the goat in Daniel 8. Some are shocked that such an important figure in history would garner only a single verse of reference in this prophecy, but we have to remember that this prophecy was originally for the Jewish people, not for historians—and it was predicting the future, not recording the past. Alexander’s interactions with the Jews was minor in comparison to those who came behind him. He died in 323 BC, and as we saw in 8:8, the Greek Empire was split into four major divisions, none of which involved his sons, who were both murdered shortly after Alexander’s death, fulfilling the prophecy of verse 4.

From verse 5 onward, the focus is on the struggle between the king of the South and the king of the North. Verses 5-35 cover about 150 years, from 323 to 175 BC. Obviously, there cannot merely be one king of the South and one king of the North referenced here. Instead, this passage relates to an ongoing dynastic struggle that had Israel in the center.

MAP

The kings of the South are those in the Ptolemaic dynasty, who originally received Egypt and Israel in their allotment from the Greek Empire. The kings of the North are those in the Seleucid dynasty, who received Syria and the surrounding lands. You can see that Israel—the little purple section—is the place where these two kingdoms touched. Thus, everything that happened between these two kingdoms impacted the Jews, sometimes in catastrophic ways. This stretch of land is where most of the fighting took place.

Now that we’ve established the national players, we can look at a table that we’re just going to leave up as we go through the history. The reason for this, to be honest, is the number of pronouns that are used in our focal passage. I think that the most difficult part of this passage is the fact that sometimes we aren’t sure who “he” is referring to: the king of the South, or the king of the North? I’ll try to be very clear about names and who we’re referring to as I go.

Now, during the conflict surrounding the distribution of the Greek Empire, Antigonus rose to power over the Seleucid dynasty in 316 BC, and attempted to eradicate any competitors. One such competitor was Seleucus I Nicator, who was governing the satrapy of Babylon. Seleucus fled to Egypt, where he served for a time as a general under Ptolemy I Soter, and with the defeat of Antigonus in 312, became the king of the Seleucid dynasty. The Seleucids would eventually become the most powerful of the Greek kingdoms, fulfilling the prophecy of verse 5.

In 285 BC, Ptolemy II Philadelphus began to rule in Egypt, and relations between the two dynasties remained conflicted through the reign of Antiochus I Soter of Syria. It was during this time that Ptolemy II commissioned the translation of the Old Testament into Greek, known as the Septuagint. After Antiochus I’s son Antiochus II Theos became king of Syria in 261 BC, the two dynasties attempted to forge a treaty through marriage in 250 BC. Ptolemy II’s daughter Berenice was to marry Antiochus II, and their son would be the heir of the Seleucid dynasty. But there was a problem: Antiochus II was already married to Laodice, a woman with apparently some power and influence. When Ptolemy II died in 246, Laodice wasted no time. She poisoned her husband, and pushed her son Seleucus II Callinicus to sieze the throne by murdering both Berenice and her son, fulfilling verse 7.

As this was a violation of the treaty (not to mention his sister’s death), Berenice’s brother Ptolemy III Euergetes declared war and invaded Syria, succeeding in overcoming the Seleucid forces, putting Laodice to death, and looting the Syrian capital of Antioch, carrying back Seleucid idols and sacred Egyptian articles that had been taken by the Persian empire hundreds of years earlier. The two signed a peace treaty in 240 BC, though at some time, Seleucus II tested that treaty in a minor invasion referenced in verse 9.

After Seleucus II died in 226, Seleucus III Ceraunus continued the conflict, although he was murdered after only three years on the throne. His brother Antiochus III, also known as Antiochus the Great, invaded Egypt through Israel in 219-218 after the death of Ptolemy III and the ascension of Ptolemy IV Philopater to the throne. In response, Ptolemy IV raised a large army, and won a decisive victory against Antiochus III at Raphia (modern day Rafah, Gaza) in Israel. But conflicts from within in the form of rebels in both Egypt and Israel, along with pressure from the Macedonian king Philip V, prevented Egypt from strengthening their position. Egyptian General Scopas put down the Hebrew uprising, fulfilling verse 14 at some time around the death of Ptolemy IV, and the ascension of his son Ptolemy V Epiphanes to the throne.

In the meantime, Antiochus III regrouped, and returned with an even greater army, defeating Scopas at Panium (now called Banian near Caesarea Philippi), and capturing him in 198 BC at Sidon. This victory was incredibly important. Antiochus the Great would exalt himself, and “do whatever he wants,” (v. 16) establishing total Syrian control over Israel (“the beautiful land”). He punished those Jews who supported Egypt, but generally received a warm welcome when he entered Jerusalem in 198 BC, because most of the Jews saw him as a deliverer of some kind. They did not realize that this change in government would lead to one of the most terrible times in their history.

Hoping to gain further control over Egypt, Antiochus III forced Ptolemy V to marry his daughter Cleopatra (not the Mark Antony Cleopatra, which wouldn’t happen for another hundred years or so). However, it turned out that Cleopatra supported her husband over her father, as predicted in verse 17. Antiochus the Great, thinking he had successfully subjugated Egypt, did in fact start attempting to take islands and countries around the Mediterranean Sea (v. 18).

However, Rome was on the rise, and the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Scipio defeated the Syrians at Thermopylae and Magnesia, forcing Antiochus to sign the Treaty of Apamea. Antiochus had to surrender territory, most of his military, pay a heavy indemnity to Rome, and provide 20 hostages, one of which was his son Antiochus IV. Antiochus the Great died in 187 BC, when he was killed by an angry mob while he was attempting to pillage the temple of Zeus at Elymais, presumably attempting to raise the funds for the annual indemnity payment of 1000 talents of gold (v. 19). The task of appeasing Rome was left to his son, Seleucus IV Philopator.

Seleucus IV employed a tax collector and Prime Minister named Heliodorus to collect the needed funds for the indemnity from throughout his lands. According to 2 Maccabees 3:7-40, he even attempted to plunder the temple in Jerusalem, but a vision of angels prevented it. However, in 175 BC (a very short reign of 12 years compared to his father’s 36 years) Seleucus IV was poisoned by Heliodorus, very likely aided by his brother Antiochus IV (referred to in verse 21 as “a despised person”).

The Syrian throne should have gone to Seleucus IV’s son Demetrius I, but Demetrius was being held hostage in Rome it this time in order to ensure his father’s adherence to the treaty, and so Antiochus IV, giving himself the title “Epiphanes” (“the manifest god”) seized the throne by intrigue. The “little horn” of Daniel 8 had arisen.

In 169 BC, Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt attempted to regain Israel and Phoenicia, but his army was defeated by Antiochus, and he was captured. Ptolemy VI is the “covenant prince,” who was “swept away.” While in captivity, he made an agreement with Antiochus; that if the Syrians would help him regain his throne from his younger brother (Ptolemy VII), then they would be allies in the future. Ptolemy VI did not honor this commitment, and forged an alliance with his brother against Antiochus once he returned to Egypt (v. 27).

I’ve already gone into great detail regarding the acts of Antiochus IV following this point in history, last month when we looked at the prophecy of Daniel 8 (Daniel’s Second Vision: Pt. 3). What I covered there is essentially what we find here predicted in verses 28-35, so I’m not going to go through all of that again this morning for the sake of time. However, there is a little more detail here to touch on to help us marvel at the accuracy of the vision.

Antiochus’ second attempt at taking Egypt was met with failure because the Ptolemies had called upon Rome for assistance. In 167 BC, as he was moving to besiege Alexandria in Egypt, Antiochus was met by a fleet from Rome (“ships of Kittim” Kittim: Cyprus), and the Roman commander Gaius Popilius Laenas served him with a letter from the Roman Senate ordering him to leave Egypt or face war with Rome, drawing a circle in the sand around him and instructing him that he was not to leave the circle until he had responded to the letter. Humiliated, Antiochus withdrew, and upon his return to Antioch, he vented his fury against the people of Jerusalem.

There were some who acquiesced to his control, believing his promises and lies. Others, like those in the Maccabean revolt, were “strong and [took] action.” (v. 32) But to summarize, there would be terrible travail for faithful Jews under Antiochus—tens of thousands killed, the temple desecrated, and worship of God criminalized.

This oppression would continue until the time of Antiochus’s death in 163 BC, which would bring about the end of the “appointed time” of wrath against the Jews for their disobedience before they were taken into captivity in Babylon about 400 years earlier—Disobedience that had lasted (generally) for about 400 years leading up to it.

Application

OK. So we’ve seen the history that was predicted hundreds of years before it would actually come to pass, in remarkable detail. We can connect the specific things in this vision to specific things that actually happened in history later on. We often talk about the time period from Malachi (written in the mid-400’s BC) to Matthew as a period of silence—that God didn’t speak during that time. I was thinking about that this week, and I was struck by the fact that God didn’t need to say anything during that time: He had already spoken, and loudly. Those who had read and remembered the message of Daniel could see this being played out in real time.

But for the moment, we might wonder what we can take away from this that’s useful in our lives. Much like the quote from Leupold I used to open my message, this has been perhaps a fascinating Bible study, but it’s hard to see how it applies today. My argument is that today isn’t its target. Certainly it made sense to the Jews as they lived through it. That was its original target audience. But that doesn’t mean it’s not useful for us.

Here are three contrasts we can see in this passage that can encourage us today:

1: The kingdoms of the world are in turmoil, but the kingdom of God is not.

How many times during that little history that I just gave did I mention war and lying and death and murder? I don’t even know. How many times in that history did we hear of victory and then defeat, and then victory again? How many times was a treaty broken? That history (including the Persia part at the beginning) covers about 370 years. How many similar stories do we know from governments since then, just from what we’ve learned in our history books? Our nation hasn’t even been in existence that long, and how many wars have we been a part of?

But this isn’t surprising. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon observed:

Ecclesiastes 1:6–9 CSB

6 Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. 7 All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

He’s right. Human kingdoms are always flawed, because they have humans in them. But in Christ, we no longer belong to a human kingdom. Yes, we live in a flawed place now because of sin, and with that come slavery, pain, and suffering. But this place is not our home. There’s going to come a day when we will permanently change addresses. For now, we live in an environment hostile to the things of God. But that is not the final story. Our King is going to come in power and bring all of Creation back to a state of peace:

Romans 8:20–21 CSB

20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

We can cling to that peace even as the world is in turmoil around us if we are in Christ. This takes us to our second point:

2: The people of the world live in distress, but the people of God should not.

Now, by this I don’t mean that everyone on the planet is stressed out every second of every day. I mean that what we see in today’s focal passage is that all of the people we learned about were controlled by their own appetites, and they were never satisfied. They were full of rage, deceit, greed, and mostly, pride. And apart from walking in the peace of God as applied by the Holy Spirit through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we all do the same thing.

Isaiah 57:20–21 CSB

20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its water churns up mire and muck. 21 There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.

C.S. Lewis said that, “It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” And Thomas Watson said, “Pride seeks to ungod God.” When all we focus on is ourselves, we serve a terrible idol, and that idol cannot give us peace because it cannot be satisfied, because nothing in this world satisfies perfectly.

But when we are in Christ, we are to walk in humble obedience to God, and through that obedience, we find peace with God, peace with one another, and the peace that comes from trusting God as we walk through the broken world:

Colossians 3:12–15 CSB

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.

We can walk in peace because we know the One who is our peace (Eph 2:14).

And finally,

3: The hope of the world is temporary, but hope in the Lord is not.

Throughout the very real history that this prophecy pointed to, person after person pursued money and power as ends in themselves. At the base of this pursuit is a very real human longing for hope. But we wrongly believe that having enough power or enough money will provide what we long for. However, both wealth and power are transient—neither of them can last in this world, and we can’t take them with us as we saw throughout the study this morning.

Luke 12:16–20 CSB

16 Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’

But the Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our hope. Remember that we need to keep Daniel 7 and Daniel 9 in our minds as we read this prophecy from Daniel 11, because we’ve already been shown something about how everything will end. In Daniel 7: 13-14, we saw the One like a Son of Man coming in power, and:

Daniel 7:14b(CSB)

14b His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

And in Daniel 9, we know that Jesus is going to:

Daniel 9:24b (CSB)

24b ... bring the rebellion to an end, to put a stop to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.

Jesus has made this possible by paying the price for our sinfulness—the ways that we rebel against God—through dying in our place on the cross. And He beat death by His resurrection, and has ascended to God the Father, promising to come back and set the world right. We are made right with God when we believe in His work to save us instead of our own—when He becomes our hope instead of ourselves. Surrender to Jesus as your Savior and Lord, because it’s only in Him that we have everlasting hope.

Closing

Sure, it’s sometimes hard to find the places where a passage such as this one touches our lives. But doing that work through study and prayer can be so rewarding! I pray that today’s study has opened your eyes to the wonder of God’s perfect knowledge, the verifiable truth of His Word, and the hope that we have in walking with Him.

Do you need that hope today? Jesus is the only hope we have, because it’s only through Him that we can come to the Father. You can surrender to Him right now, where you are, whether you’re here in the room or online. And if you’re in the room, in a moment the band is going to come down to play a song of response. I’ll be down front, along with Rich and Kerry? If you have surrendered to Jesus this morning come and let us know so we can celebrate. We don’t want to embarrass you or anything. It’s just that Bible says that whoever believes in Christ has passed from death into life! That’s something worth celebrating. If you’re online, send me an email.

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PRAYER

Closing Remarks

Bible reading (1 Chr 5-6, Ps 37)

Pastor’s Study tonight

Prayer Meeting Weds

Instructions for guests

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 CSB

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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