Shining Brightly | Daniel 11–12

Good morning church! Go ahead and grab your Bibles and head on over to Daniel 11-12. We are wrapping up our series on Daniel today and I hope that this series has served you as well as it has me.

One of my favorite times of the year is the end of March, and not because of the wind. No, this is when college basketball reaches the culmination of the year in March Madness. It’s a 64 team tournament where you just never know who’s going to pull it off. Out of curiosity, did anyone make a bracket this year? I did. It might surprise you, but I picked Texas Tech to win it all. We were on the right track till last night when Florida knocked us out of the tournament, but before that game was Thursday night. Did anyone besides me stay up and watch that game?

It was incredible. Tech was down by 16 in the second half. We could buy a bucket. We couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn if we were standing inside of it we were shooting so bad. Our best defender and one of our best players was in foul trouble. We didn’t stand a chance. Literally, on the ESPN app with 4:43 left in the game Arkansas had a 98% chance of winning. Tech chipped away at it, but with a 1:19 left in the game Arkansas had a 90% chance of winning. I mean we looked horrible. No way we could pull this off. Yet all the sudden, one of our star freshman players finally, FINALLY, sunk a 3 point shot. Then, with 9 seconds left, one of our most reliable players hit another 3 to tie it up. We went into overtime—which was just as dramatic, and pulled off the win. It was incredible.

Now, because I’m preaching this chapter and I love this team I can draw some comparisons, between how the book ends and how the game ends. Might that be a bit of a stretch? Yes. Absolutely, but both of these things end positively. They seemed really dire at certain points..in fact, I’d say in both situations there were hopeless moments. Yet in the end, both things end in victory.

Last week we looked at Daniel 10 which is the opening of this vision. In it we were called to trust that God was fighting for us in the midst of the battles we face. Daniel 11 and part of Daniel 12 tells us of the battles that await history and then the end of Daniel 12 tells us how Daniel should respond to this. So, these 3 chapters are all one unit, and we’re going to tackle both 11-12 today. Due to their length, I won’t read both. I’ll sum up most of 11, but we will read through all of 12 when we get to it.

If we know battles await, or maybe for some of you you’re in some sort of battle now, yet we know because we saw last week we’re supposed to trust God is fighting for and with us, and we’re about to look at some of the horror of these battles and see that its going to get worse, yet in the end the faithful to Jesus win, then the question we’re seeking to answer is how do we respond to all of this? I think Dan. 10-12 has one big call to action for the people of God and that’s this: In the midst of worsening circumstances, shine brightly to the end. That’s your main point for this morning.

With that bit of introduction, let’s real quickly go to the Lord in prayer asking him to help us see, understand, and obey his Word this morning. We’ve worked to prepare our hearts this morning through singing, but now let’s spend a moment in prayer really settling our eyes and our minds on him. Let’s pray.

When we look at these chapters there’s 3 major things that surface. They’re our 3 big points of application this morning. Here’s the first:

Prepare for things to get a lot worse.

I know, great start to a sermon. I’m sure you can’t wait to listen to the rest of this. Look down with me real quick to Daniel 11:1-2

Daniel 11:1–2 ESV

“And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

Ok, remember here the angel is now giving Daniel this vision and as you can tell this sound really similar to Daniel 8 which we looked at a few weeks ago. In fact, Daniel 11:2-35 is a more detailed vision of the same contents of Daniel 8. So let me just try to recap that real quick so it’s fresh in your mind.

Remember, Daniel and his Israelite buddies were captured by King Nebby back at the very beginning of the book. The lived in exile under the Babylonian kingdom until the Persians invaded and took over. Some Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the temple, but as we discussed last week their progress was quickly stopped. Daniel didn’t return to Jerusalem; instead he now served under the reign of the king of Persia.

After Cyrus, there were 3 more kings until Alexander the Great invaded and began a new world kingdom. However, his kingdom was short lived and as we saw in Daniel 8 & 11:4 that his kingdom was divided among his 4 generals. Those generals then never united and led 1 kingdom, but instead now the new sets of battles began with each one trying to dominate the other. As the 11:1-20 tell us, alliances were made, and broken, and made again, and broken again. Daughters were given in marriage just so that they could betray their betrothed. Yet, one daughter in particular—Cleopatra—resented her father enough that she ended up betraying him. It’s a historical timeline of kings and kingdoms each seeking to take over and rule, yet all of them are extremely brittle and don’t last. Yet as we’ve seen throughout the book, in each one of these it is clear that the sovereign hand of God is orchestrating time and history for his purposes.

But then we land at Daniel 11:21-35 and this inconspicuous horn, as it’s referred to in Dan. 8, arises. Now, out of the cellars of a Roman jail in trots this guy named Antiochus Epiphanes. His brother was king, but his brother was killed. His nephew was young, and Antiochus, having now seen and been through much of the burgeoning Roman Empire seized the opportunity to take the throne.

Now we looked at him extensively in Dan 8 so I’ll just quote Dale Davis’ summary of Antiochus’ reign:

He was set on emasculating the vitals of biblical faith and was determined to see every Jew apostatize. He stripped them of sacrament (the death penalty for circumcising male infants), sacrifice (unless they would offer pagan offerings to Zeus), Sabbath (observing it brought a death sentence), and Scripture (one’s life was forfeit if caught with a torah scroll). In this reign of terror it seemed the only choice was to be a live pagan or a dead Israelite.

Not only did he make it impossible to be a faithful follower of YHWH, he then desecrated the temple by setting up an altar in it to Zeus and sacrificing a pig on it. As bad as that seems, however, that only brings us to Dan. 11:36-12:1. So let’s pick up there and read.

Daniel 11:36–12:1 ESV

“And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him. “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.

These last 9-10 verses are difficult because on a certain level they seem to depict Antiochus Epiphanes, but there’s some aspects of it that historically can’t be him. Some scholars try to reconcile it with other oppressors in the Roman Empire or even later on, and while there’s some alignment in certain places, nothing perfectly matches up. When you do a deep dive on the first 35 verses the historical accuracy with which those things come to fruition causes scholars to scratch their heads on the last 10. So what do we do with these last verses, and what all do they depict?

Joyce Baldwin in her commentary gives an illustration that I think is really helpful. Have you ever seen one of those old spyglass telescopes? You know, the monocular ones that you can extend out? When it’s collapsed and you look at it it just looks like one piece, but then all the sudden you can pull it out and see that it’s 3 different parts, or two. She calls this a telescopic prophesy. You look at it and it appears one thing, but then all the sudden you pull it apart and realize that it extends. If that’s right, and I think it is, then what this ultimately points toward is the final antichrist.

So what then does the final antichrist look like? Take what we saw with Antiochus and turn it up to 11. This guy does all of what Antiochus does an more. In these verses we see that he does as he wills. He exalts himself against God by saying he’s greater than God. In other words, he blasphemes him. And while yours and my reaction would be to scoot away from that guy because we’re afraid he’s going to get struck by lightening guess what happens? He not only succeeds, but he prospers. It will seem like he is unconquerable. He will patronize people and honor those who support him. He’ll give them places of position and annihilate all who are opposed to him. Not only that, he’ll have the financial backing & support to make it all happen.

Now, while I do believe this prophecy points to a future day, church, don’t be fooled—the spirit of the antichrist is alive and well today. He is seeking to seduce our own hearts and the hearts of our children. How do I know that? Look around! What do you think Satan is constantly trying to do? JD Greear was on point here:

“[Satan] at work trying to get you to exalt yourself. To think that your agenda is the most important. That you know best. Through things as benign as Facebook and Twitter and Instagram [and TikTok] reels and consumer-driven commercials and personality profiles he’s trying to get you to fixate on yourself. He whispers in your ear that you know what’s best for your life; that no one else is looking out for you so you’d better; that you can only be happy when your kingdom comes and your will is done.”

That’s exactly what the antichrist will do and what Satan wants. Greear continues with some words that I think are really important for us to hear:

“Make no mistake, we are sending our kids out into a hostile world and we need to prepare them for that. We can’t be content with a thin layer of religiosity, kids who don’t cuss, don’t have sex and know how to vote. We need to teach them that Jesus is worth living and dying for, and though the world may take everything from them for him, that he’s worth it.”

So let me pause and ask you a couple questions: have you been deceived by the sprit of the antichrist and fallen into the trap of self-promotion? Do you spend more time thinking about how you can accomplish the establishment of your kingdom or your legacy than you do about building the Kingdom of God? Parents, have you put more emphasis on your children’s education, or experiences, or athletics, or even friend group than you have on discipling them and teaching them about the value and the worthiness of knowing and following Jesus? Maybe, just maybe before you answer any of those questions you need to answer the question is Jesus worthy of following?

Because church, here’s the deal, we can look back about 2200 years ago at Antiochus and go, man that guy was tough, but what Daniel shows us is that what’s to come is going to be way worse and that antichrist will be way more manipulative and deceiving. Yet, in the midst of all of this horror that awaits, Daniel is given these little glimmers of hope throughout this vision. At the end of verse 27 we see this…and in the middle of verse 33 we see this…and at the end of verse 35 there’s this…towards the end of 36, and the end of 40 then jumping to 12:1…

V27 “for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.”

V33 “though for some days…”

V35 “until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time”

V36 “He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished”

V40 “At the time of the end”

12:1 “At that time…and there shall be a time…but at that time”

As we’ve seen throughout this book, while things are going to get a lot worse it’s only for time. That time might outlast you. It might be the worst of times that you have to live through, or that your kids have to live through, but it’s only for time. So, will you prepare yourself? Will you prepare your kids or your grandkids for what’s to come? Will you prioritize their discipleship or make it optional?

That leads me to our second point. I want to actually go ahead and pick up in Dan. 12:1-13 and read this whole chapter then we’ll look at our last two points of application. Look back with me..

Daniel 12:1–13 ESV

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

The second thing we see out of Dan. 11-12 is this:

Shine brightly in Babylon

While the antichrist will cause many to stumble and fall, while he will be manipulative and murderous, there will be faithful followers who like verse 3 says, “shine like the brightness of the sky above.” Verse 3 describes those people as wise and if you roll back to 11:32-33 you see exactly who the wise are…Dan. 11:32-33

Daniel 11:32–33 ESV

…but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder.

This angel in this vision equates the wise with those “who know their God and stand firm,” but not just stand firm, but take action. Let’s look at those 3 verbs real quickly and see what this text has to say about them. First, the wise “know their God.” What does it mean to know their God? Daniel was instructed to shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. He was to write this prophecy down and preserve it so that our generation and the generations to come would know it.

We get tempted to get caught up in the weeds of the prophecy and miss the giver of the prophecy. This book has taught us a lot about history and the future. It’s taught us a lot about us and it’s challenged us in lots of ways, but ultimately do you know what the book of Daniel has been about? it’s been about God. It’s been about you knowing the sovereign God who was and is and will continue to work all things for His glory and your good. Haven’t you seen that to be true of this book? As we have pressed into some really challenging passages, my greatest hope has been that you grow in your knowledge and experience of Him. If that’s true then, how do you know God? You press into His word. You look and see the magnificence of the one who gave us this book so that we might know him.

As you come to know him do you know what you’re enabled to do? Stand firm. Those who know God , while they will be tempted by the spirit of the antichrist and his manipulative and deceptive ways, or they will be threatened by him, they’ll stand firm because they know that sword and flame, captivity and plunder pale in comparison to the worthiness of knowing Jesus. Isn’t that what would cause Paul to say in Phil. 3:8

Philippians 3:8 ESV

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Paul says that after he had just listed all of his credentials. He was on the fast track to legacy, position, and security. But when he encountered the risen Jesus he saw that all of that was worth nothing compared to knowing Him. He saw that the sufferings that we endure just give us more of Jesus.

What Paul, and Daniel, and the rest of Scriptures show us then is that suffering isn’t just pain to avoid or endure, but rather it is the fire that refines us and draws us nearer to the one who suffered shame and rejection for us. Suffering then is something with which we walk through with joy because it gives us more of Jesus. All of this is enabled by a growing knowledge of and relationship to Him.

But endurance isn’t just the result of that, is it? “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” What action do they take? Look at Daniel 11:33 “And the wise among the people shall make many understand.” Then look down to Daniel 12:3 “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” So knowing God leads to standing firm and witness. Why witness? As you increase in your knowing—and knowing here isn’t statistical knowledge but relational—what grows in you is His love for you and that compels your love for him. When you truly love God, you can’t help but grow in your love for others and want them to know goodness of the God who’s come for them and the deceptiveness of the antichrist who seeks to destroy them. Witness, or evangelism, isn’t just a spiritual discipline, it’s an overflow of a heart that’s been filled by the love of Jesus.

I heard a story this week about a guy named Steve Saint. His name might be familiar because Steve was the son of a guy named Nate Saint. Nate Saint is considered to be a modern missionary martyr & hero as he was on of 5 young missionaries brutally and tragically speared to death on the beaches of Ecuador in the 1950’s. They had been trying to establish contact with this isolated tribe called the Aucas, in order to bring food, supplies and eventually the gospel to them. But on January 8, 1956, they were deceived by the tribe and murdered by them. Steve recounted how as a young boy he struggled with why God had ALLOWED that to happen. But now, he said, get this, he realized that God didn’t just allow it to happen, God planned it. He planned it. And, Steve said, 50 years later, we see that God used the incident to pave the way for that tribe of Aucas to be saved. After the murder the wives of these 5 men went back to the tribe; the tribe was so moved by their generosity and forgiveness that peace was established, and eventually nearly the whole tribe came to faith. Several years later, in fact, Steve got to baptize the very man, Mincaye, who had put a spear into his father’s heart. And that man, Steve said, “became like the grandfather of my kids, a beloved member of my family.” Then Steve said this, one of the most powerful statements I’ve ever heard: “Why is it that we want every chapter to be good when God promises only that in the last chapter he will make all the other chapters make sense?”

No matter how dark this world gets, as you know God you will stand firm and take action to tell others about the goodness of God. As you do, you’ll stand out like a bright light, like a star shining forever and ever.

Daniel hears the prophecy and the first one to respond is the angels. They go, how long? The one speaking doesn’t just raise one hand to make a promise, but instead raises two, symbolizing just how true and certain this is. Then Daniel goes, what will be the outcome? And the giver of the message gives Daniel his last instruction and word of encouragement. Dan. 12:13 sums it up:

Daniel 12:13 ESV

But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

Our final point from this book is this:

Go forward in the hope of the resurrection

We saw how Daniel was in getting ready to hear this vision back in chapter 10 and now here towards the end you can still sense his desperation for this to all be made right. But the messenger gives him instructive, sobering, and yet encouraging words. Go your way. In other words, go back to your desk and go to work. Faithfully serve where you are and seek to see the Kingdom come now trusting that it’ll come at the right time. There’s the instruction. He’s saying don’t try to get out of your situation, but continue doing what you’re doing trusting in Him and with an eternal purpose.

But Daniel, you won’t see the end; “You shall rest.” In other words, Daniel, you’re going to die before this all comes to fruition. History shows us that it’s not just Daniel, but it’s faithful saints for millenia that will rest before all of this comes about. But, but, “you shall stand in your alloted place at the end of the days.” You see at the end of all of this you won’t remain dead; you’ll stand. Back in Dan. 12:2 we get what is the absolute clearest reference to the resurrection in the OT.

Daniel 12:2 ESV

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

There is a promise that when this all comes about there will be a resurrection, and this resurrection will have two different results. Some will live forever. Those who have eaten of the tree of life will now find life forever and for those who have followed the manipulative and deceptive antichrist will spend eternity in shame and everlasting contempt. That word contempt is only used one other place in the OT and it means abhorrence. In other words, shame and everlasting horror. This is a clear reference to the eternal punishment of hell.

So then the question is what will the resurrection bring for you? When this all comes to fruition and then God returns to set things right will you spend eternity alive, or in horror and shame? You might hear that and go, how do you truly know? Well, what has Daniel just shown us? Those who are wise will remain faithful. They’ll stand firm. They’ll shine like stars because they turn many to righteousness. Is that you? Have you remained faithful to following Jesus? Have you told others of the grace and mercy of the God who has come save you?

Prepare your heart for resurrection Sunday

Don’t let Easter be a weekend where we tip our hats to the resurrection and get dressed up for family pictures

Family Bible Reading

Shine Bright…invite someone else (cards on the back), better yet, witness to them

Pray that God would move in your hearts and your neighbors heart

In the midst of worsening circumstances, shine brightly to the end.