History, the Word and You

Introduction

If you have a Bible in your hand this morning, I want you to understand something about the book itself.

It is really unlike any of the other supposed holy books that exist.

The Quran is a book that is mostly filled with what Muslims claim to be divine revelation and moral guidance.

The Hindu Vedas are primarily hymns and rituals.

The Book of Mormon tries to root itself in history, but the alternate history of North America that it teaches have zero support from archaeology.

Buddhist and Zoroastrian texts have narrow references to history, but it is small bits and not all of it matches up with archaeological data.

And then you have the Bible.

The one true revelation of God does not hesitate to tie the events in the history of the redemption of God’s people into the narrative of world history.

In Daniel we have seen Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great.

Isaiah and history books of the Bible like the Kings and Chronicles also mention world rulers in the nations.

Luke begins Luke 2 by saying:

Luke 2:1–2 ESV

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Matthew timestamps his birth narrative as well:

Matthew 2:1 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

All four Gospels anchor themselves in history with their references to Pontius Pilate.

In the final chapters of Acts, Luke connects Paul’s story with several ruling authorities verified by historians.

All of this helps us to see that the Bible is no collection of mythological stories and moral fairy tales.

That is not what it claims to be.

In is God’s Word, revealed from heaven and written by men who were living in history.

Understanding that, We will see that the Bible changes how we look at history.

We will be able to see the trustworthiness of the Word this morning.

And we will see what that means for our lives.

Context and Text

With that stated, let’s turn our attention to the first half of Daniel 11 today.

Remember that what we are reading is the message that Daniel receives from the Heavenly Messenger that he met in Daniel 10, whom we identified as the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord is bringing Daniel a message filled with truth about the future that will ultimately comfort him in his morning.

Daniel 10-12 is all one vision, with its focusing being the message that Daniel is receiving.

These are the very words of God...

Daniel 11:1–20 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. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times. “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land. “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

Outline

Here is our outline this morning.

We have three points to help us learn:

1. History is God’s story.

2. The Word is God’s testimony.

3. The testimony of the Word compels us to trust the God of history.

1. History is God’s story.

As we begin this morning, we will start with Daniel 11:2.

As we said last week, Daniel 11:1 actually belong more with chapter 10 than chapter 11.

Verse 2

As we get into v. 2, Daniel is being shown the “truth,” by the heavenly Messenger.

This would be the truth from the “Book of Truth” mentioned in chapter 10.

It is the truth of what is to come in the years following Babylonian Exile.

v. 2-20 are less focused on God’s people and more focused on moving and shaking of the global powers around God’s people.

I want to warn you that there are A LOT of historical figures that are being prophesied about in this passage.

In light of that, I have some graphics for us so that we don’t end up going cross-eyed.

And keep in mind that what you are reading was written after Daniel had his final vision.

This would have been about 536 BC.

Therefore, Daniel 11 is giving us detailed prophecy that is foretelling what is to come in the hundreds of years that follow Daniel’s life.

That means we are reading one of the more mind-blowing passages in the Bible in terms of fulfilled prophecy in history.

Now, as we continue in v. 2, it mentions the “fourth” king of Persia who is richer than all and stirs up the kingdom of Greece. (SHOW DANIEL 11:2 SLIDE HERE)

The 4th King from Cyrus is King Xerxes, who reigned from 486-465 BC.

He was richer than all his predecessors

And he attacked Greece with the army he built on riches

Verse 3 (SHOW DANIEL 11:3 SLIDE HERE)

But stirring up Greece was not necessarily wise.

For out of Greece came the King who conquered Persia—the mighty king known as Alexander the Great (v. 3).

The was one of the most powerful individuals the world had ever seen and he did away with Darius III—a later Persian king who was a descendant of Xerxes.

He had great dominion and did as he wanted.

Verse 4 (SHOW DANIEL 11:4 SLIDE HERE)

However, Alexander left as fast as he arrived.

Just over a decade after his rise to power, he dies suddenly at 32 years old in 323 BC. This is only eight years after defeating the Persians.

This kingdom is handed to others—four of his generals

But none of them are his sons (not to his posterity)

And none are as powerful as Alexander (not according to the authority with which he ruled)

In the years that followed, as we will see in a moment, these generals would fight each other.

Verse 5 (SHOW DANIEL 11:5 SLIDE HERE)

One of Alexander’s generals is Ptolemy Soter who reigned in the region of Egypt until 305 BC. You can call him Ptolemy I.

He is the King of the south that is strong (v. 5)

But notice that one of his princes will be stronger than him.

This is Seleucus I. He was Ptolemy’s protege.

In 312 BC, Seleucus took control of region of Babylon from rivals and took over the North, establishing the “Seleucid Empire.”

Seleucus’ kingdom exceeded the kingdom of Ptolemy.

Verse 6 (SHOW DANIEL 11:6 SLIDE 1 HERE)

But now we have the two main kingdoms of Greece we are dealing with in the first half of chapter 11.

The Northern Seleucid Kingdom

The Southern Ptolemaic Kingdom.

As often happens in the Ancient world, the North and South attempt to forge an alliance through marriage

35 years after Seleucus, Ptolemy’s granddaughter, Berenice, married Seleucus’ grandson, Antiochus II

The alliance doesn’t last. (SHOW DANIEL 11:6 SLIDE 2 HERE)

Antiochus II, Berenice and their child are all murdered and the support for the alliance is dead (246 BC)

This is what is meant when v. 6 says that “she will not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure...”

Verse 7 (SHOW DANIEL 11:7 SLIDE HERE)

Verse 7 says:

English Standard Version Chapter 11

“And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail.

Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III, known as the “Well Doer” became the next king of Egypt in the South.

He battled with the North.

He entered the Seleucid fortress and put the murderer of his sister and brother in law to death.

He prevailed.

Verse 8 (SHOW DANIEL 11:8 SLIDE)

This was a massive success for Ptolemy III.

His armies raided the north and carried images of its protective false gods back to Egypt, which were made of silver and gold.

The Ptolemies were superior to the Seleucids during this period, but Ptolemy III refrained from more attacks for a time.

His attacks on the Seleucids lasted from 246-241 BC.

He arrived a peace treaty with Seleucus II in 241 BC.

Verse 9 (SHOW DANIEL 11:9 SLIDE HERE)

But it doesn’t last long.

Seleucus II marched down to Egypt in 240 BC and defeated him and then returned to the North, which is what verse 9 is referring to.

It was a business trip.

They went down to Egypt, they made a statement and they went home.

Verse 10 (SHOW DANIEL 11:10 SLIDE 1 HERE)

After this, the two sons of Seleucus II, Seleucus III (225-223 BC) and Antiochus III (223-187 BC) prepared themselves for battle.

Their princely alliance was broken on the battlefield when Seleucus III died.

Antiochus III carried on alone.

He conducted conquests in multiple directions, including to the South.

(SHOW DANIEL 11:10 SLIDE 2 HERE)

Antiochus III took the region near Gaza in 218 BC and suddenly, the North and the South were at it again because he had approached Egyptian territory.

This is what the latter half of v. 10 is referring to.

Verse 11 (SHOW DANIEL 11:9 SLIDE HERE)

Antiochus III had a massive military.

However, when he came up against the Ptolemaic army, he was unable to withstand their 75,000 men and their 73 elephants.

The rage of the King of the South was too much for Antiochus III.

Antiochus’ great multitude was given into the hands of Ptolemy IV.

Ptolemy IV, who reigned from 222-204 BC, gets a decisive victory in 217 BC.

Verse 12

However, This victory gave Ptolemy IV a proud heart.

He would begin to wage war on the North in multiple conquests and would gain victories, but not ultimate victory.

But He would not prevail.

As is the case every time, pride goeth before destruction.

Verse 13 (SHOW DANIEL 11:13 SLIDE HERE)

When Ptolemy IV died, his son took the throne. But Ptolemy V was only 5 years old!

A boy-king on the throne in the South opened the door for the Antiochus III to get the upper hand.

He raised up a stronger army, came upon an armory of weapons and wealth.

The Seleucid Kingdom, which had done a see-saw act during Antiochus III’s reign, was now in power again.

Antiochus III’s great army and abundant supplies saw to it.

Verse 14 (SHOW DANIEL 11:14 SLIDE HERE)

Things get really hairy for the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt, at this point.

The North grows stronger when Philip V from Macedonia, joins with the Seleucid cause.

Plus there are rebels in Egypt trying to overthrow the government, but they fail.

Even violent Jewish people get involved in coming against Egypt.

All of this was to “fulfill the vision.”

All of this will take place according to God’s foretold plan, proving that history is God’s story.

Verse 15 (SHOW DANIEL 11:15 SLIDE HERE)

In 198 BC, Antiochus III captured Sidon, which had belonged to the Ptolemaic Empire.

They used earthworks to besiege the city.

There was no way out for the people in the city.

The only choice was surrender.

The forces of the South could do nothing to stop it.

They had no strength to stand.

Verse 16 (SHOW DANIEL 11:16 SLIDE HERE)

After this, Antiochus III would become seemingly invincible.

He is described in similar language to Alexander.

No one can withstand him and his dominance touches Palestine, as he stands in the “glorious land.”

Verse 17 (SHOW DANIEL 11:17 SLIDE HERE)

But despite all his dominance, he was never able to completely defeat the Ptolemies. So he turns to a more strategic approach.

Instead of swords and elephants, he marries his daughter, Cleopatra, to Ptolemy V in 193 BC.

He thought she could be a sort of spy and conspire against Egypt from the inside.

This is what is meant by “He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom.”

However, it is not to his advantage because she constantly sides with her husband, who is a teenager now.

Verse 18 (SHOW DANIEL 11:18 SLIDE HERE)

After this, Antiochus III decides to turn his attention to the coastlands of the Mediterranean.

He wants to annex Asia Minor.

This proves to be a terrible mistake.

The Roman Lucius crushes the Seleucids in battle in 190 BC.

Lucius has an army that smaller by 40,000 men and it doesn’t matter.

Verses 19-20

v. 19—So Antiochus III licks his wounds and returns home to focus on affairs in his own empire.

He is totally embarrassed by the defeat.

He disappears from the scene in 187 BC.

v. 20—He is replaced by Seleucus IV (187-175 BC).

In an attempt to get more money, he sends a diplomat named Heliodorus to Jerusalem to seize the temple funds.

However, Heliodorus—the “exacter of tribute” says he has a vision and is told not to go through with it.

Not long after this, Heliodorus assassinated Seleucus IV. He is broken, just as v. 20 says.

This opens the way for Antiochus Epiphanies IV to rise to power, which we will cover in a couple of weeks.

He is spoken of in Daniel 8 and will be the focus of Daniel 11:21-45.

History is God’s Story

Now, what do we make of all this?

You may have some questions...

...Like—Why is it even in the Bible?

Well, first of all, back to our original point—History is God’s Story.

This is something that we have been learning all throughout the book of Daniel.

Daniel 2:20–21 ESV

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;

As we read about all of the changing tides of powers over the centuries in the Ancient Near East, none of it is happening outside of God’s control.

He is no watchmaker sitting back and watching the ancient world spin without a care about what actually happens.

God is governing all of it.

With every change of season, God is the Author of history.

Persia to Greece to Ptolemaic vs Seleucid—God is the One with sovereignty over the seasons.

With every new leader, God is the One removing and setting up kings.

From the fall of the Persian kings, to Alexander’s sudden death, to all of the Ptolemies and the Seleucus’ and the Antiochus’, God is the One weaving the different characters into the tapestry of history.

I took a lot of history in middle school and high school.

I took a number of history classes getting my undergraduate degree at VCU.

And what I was taught is that history is really just humanity’s story.

The wheel of history move along by human decisions, human power, human victories, human borders, as so on.

But this is not the case.

There is no doubt that you cannot tell the story of history without telling the story of humanity, but these things are not happening apart from God’s good and wise governance.

Listen to how Mitchell Chase states it:

The purpose of the vision and revelation...is not to overwhelm the reader with historical detail, although it may happen. The purpose, rather, is for the historical detail to overwhelm the reader with the assurance of God’s sovereignty and meticulous guidance of this world.

Mitchell Chase

In other words, God doesn’t place all of this in His Word to overwhelm you with the story of humanity.

He places it there to overwhelm you with the reality that history is the story of God and He is in complete control.

The fact that all of this is prophesied before it even happens, shows just how in control He is.

No one else can foretell future events like this.

Only God.

Transition to Point #2

However, some have sought to undermine that reality by denying that Daniel wrote this at all.

They do this because if Daniel actually prophesied all of these future events with accuracy, it would really mean, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that THIS BOOK is God’s Word.

This is a pill that critics of the Bible refuse to swallow.

Therefore, they date the authorship of the book of Daniel much later.

They do this because they cannot bear our 2nd point this morning...

2. The Word is God’s testimony.

As I said earlier, Daniel is writing this around 536 BC.

The events that take place in this passage stretch from 486 BC-187 BC.

So fifty years before the events take place Daniel writes about them.

And the writing in v. 2-20 cover a period of about 300 years.

I have never met anyone who can tell me, down to the letter, what will happen 300 years from now.

I am pretty sure you have never met anyone like that either.

And yet, this is what the Heavenly Messenger does with Daniel.

This is what is recorded by Daniel’s pen.

This is what the Bible has provided us this morning.

With incredible detail, the future is laid out and then as time went forward, all of these prophecies were revealed.

This leaves us with a conclusion that the Bible is unique.

This leaves us with a conclusion that it is supernatural in its origin.

It leaves us knowing that this book is from God.

Men wrote, but God inspired it.

Men brushed the scroll with a quill, but God breathed it out.

2 Timothy 3:16 claims just that—that the Word is theopneustos.

It is God-breathed.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

If Daniel really wrote all of this in 536 BC, then there can be little doubt that this is what the Bible is—breathed out by God.

Proofs of Early Authorship

Critical scholar

Now, let me give you a few brief reasons as to why I believe we can trust that Daniel really did write all of this beforehand.

Critics of the Bible will say that Daniel was written after all of this history had taken place and then Daniel’s name was slapped on to it.

They say it was written only a century or so before Jesus was born.

Here is why we disagree...

1. The Book of Daniel presents itself as being written by one author.

While Daniel refers to himself in third person in the book, he also refers to himself in the first person.

Daniel 8:1 ESV

In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.

In fact, Daniel chooses to speak in the first person throughout Daniel 8, 9 and 10.

2. History and language in Daniel point to an earlier date.

We don’t know why Daniel chooses to write in Aramaic from chapters 2-7, but when he does, the Aramaic is written in a way that lines up more with the Aramaic was written in the 6th century than the way it was written in the 2nd century.

Archaeological discoveries have only solidified this fact.

3. Historical Judaism and Christianity accepted an earlier date.

The Jews and Christians in the first and second centuries did not believe Daniel was written only 200-300 years before them.

They all believed it was written by Daniel in Exile in the 6th century BC.

In fact, no one really questions the date of Daniel’s authorship until a guy named Porphyry, who was a Plato-loving philosopher who wrote in the late 3rd Century AD.

The next time you find someone really supporting that view, you have to wait all the way until the 1600’s.

After that it starts to gain steam, as criticism of the Bible grows in Western society.

4. Daniel lacks influence from Greek culture.

The Jewish apocalyptic writings from the time just before Christ were very influenced by Greek culture in how they were written.

Daniel does not have that Greek influence.

Instead, his style lines up much more with his fellow prophet who was in Exile—Ezekiel.

Presuppositions

At the end of the day, I believe the largest driving factor in the criticism of Daniel and the attempts to date it late comes from presuppositions.

If you come to the Bible presupposing that it is not the Word of God—as many modern scholars do—you are naturally going to find a way to explain Daniel’s prophecies away.

You have to.

Because we all know that no mere work of a man could ever produce something with so much detailed prediction.

The desperation to say Daniel was written after all these events occurred is a desperation for the Bible not to be true.

However, as those who trust that the Bible is God’s testimony, we have a presupposition that this Book IS the Word of God.

Therefore, it is not remotely strange to us to see such detailed predictions come from God to man.

We know this is the God who writes the end from the beginning.

It is no challenge for Him to foretell what is to come of the Persians and the Greeks.

And yet, these reasons I have given show that we don’t have blind presuppositions.

There are good logical reasons to believe that we are correct when we say that Daniel’s prophecy was written in the 6th century and then fulfilled as the God of history conducted the events of the ancient world.

Daniel 11:1-20, much like Daniel 7 and Daniel 8, show us that the Bible is indeed God’s testimony—and we can trust it.

We can trust all those deep and hidden things He has chosen to reveal with His light:

Daniel 2:22 ESV

he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

Now, as we close up this morning, here is what this means for you

3. The testimony of the Word compels us to trust the God of history.

You see, history is not just about the past.

History is being made everyday as events occur and then are entered into the record books.

That means that each day you live and breathe, you are a part of history.

God is as much the Author of the history of your life as He is the Author of the history of Ancient Near East.

And God knows the future of your life, just as much as He knew the future of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Kingdoms.

This is something that left King David in awe in Psalm 8.

How can the God who created and governs the whole world care about us?

How can the God who removes and sets up kings be mindful of us?

Psalm 8:3–4 ESV

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Similarly, Isaiah was struck by how God would govern the nations and yet also care for His people.

Isaiah 40:15 ESV

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

Isaiah 40:17 ESV

All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

But then, a few verses later Isaiah asks a rhetorical question:

Isaiah 40:27 ESV

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Though the nations are dust and nothing before Him, He does not disregard the way of His people.

So then, as we read the testimony of the Word, here is what we see:

God is all-knowing and all-powerful and totally in control of history.

God proves this with predictions and prophecies proven true in history.

And yet, the all-knowing and all-powerful God of history cares for human beings and in particular, His people.

Trusting God

So then brothers and sisters, you can trust the God of history.

And His testimony in the Word compels you to do so.

Are you concerned about your employment?

The God who counts the nations as dust does not disregard you.

Are you concerned for your health or your family’s health?

The God who tells of future events hundreds of years before they happen knows the numbers of hair on on your head.

Are you concerned for your children?

The God who sets up and removes kings is governing their affairs as well, whether they realize it or not.

Are you concerned for your future?

The God who says the nations are nothing to Him does not count you as nothing.

Your life is in His hands and He loves you.

Gospel Conclusion

Maybe you will say, “I’m still not sure.”

Well let me remind you of the greatest proof of God’s trustworthiness...

He has proven His love in the most glorious and gracious way—by sending His Son to die for your sin on the Cross and defeat your death in the resurrection.

The centerpiece of all of history—the point of all of history—is God’s Son Jesus Christ and His glory.

The centerpiece of God’s testimony in His Word—the great point of the Word—is God’s Son Jesus Christ and His glory.

And so entrust your soul to Him.

Trust the God of History who has come to us in human flesh and said:

John 14:1 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Are you believing Him?

Are you trusting Him?

The Bible is real.

Jesus is real.

What are you waiting for?

Repent of your disbelief.

Repent of your distrust.

Repent of your disobedience.

Trust in the God of history and believe His Word today.