Daniel 11:2-35

INTRO: Did you ever play with dolls growing up?

or men—we don’t call them dolls but action figures—figurines...

army guys?

I remember having a pretty good set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Some of you might have been into GI Joe growing up…and Transformers.

Even Barbies and Ken dolls…It is amazing how Ken and Barbie never age.

My youngest Amelia let me borrow one of her Barbies and an LOL doll—if you don’t know what LOL dolls yet, just know that you should have invested in their stock about 5 years ago.

What was your favorite action hero to play with growing up? Leave a comment.

Today’s text feels a little bit like that. not us playing with action figures…but God

Like God is playing with action heroes—moving them how He sees fit.

It also feels like the board game Risk—the game of World Domination—where it can literally take days to play if you get into a battle.

If you have your Bibles, please turn to Daniel 11. Daniel 11:2.

Intro to Text:

The point of the 2nd half of Daniel (chapters 7-12) is that

God has been pulling back the curtain, showing Daniel what is going on behind the scenes.

Recently...

In chapter 9, God pulled back the curtain and showed Daniel that He has a bigger time line and plan.

In chapter 10, God showed that behind the physical reality of life is a spiritual conflict going on behind the scenes.

And now we will see in chapter 11, God shows that despite all going on behind the scenes, He is the one who is in control over it all.

We are going to look at maybe the most obscure passage in all of Daniel. Daniel 11.

And in this—God reveals to Daniel through an angel—what is going to happen in world history over the next 400 years

ORGANIZATIONAL SENTENCE: and I am going to tackle this chapter 3 in 3 sections.

Let me read Daniel 11:2-4. This is God’s angel talking to Daniel.

Daniel 11:2–4 NIV

2 “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4 After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

Remember Daniel and his people are in captivity; they are in exile under foreign power and rule.

back in chapter 2—God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a vision of the next 4 empires.

Here’s the statue

head — Babylon (neb)

Chest—Persia (which Daniel was under)

Thighs — Greece

Legs/feet—probably Rome

Here again we are reminded in vs. 2-4—that a transition of power will happen from Persia to Greece.

(Map) Here is what the current map of Persia looks like.

So in Section #1…we see

Section #1: (vs. 2-4) 538 BC - 323 BC The Kingdoms of Persia and Greece

so in this first prophecy—God is telling Daniel—that Persia will not last—your current king would be succeeded by more kings.

and that fourth king mentioned—is most likely Xerses from the book of Esther.

in vs. 3—it talks about a mighty king—we think that is Alexander the Great from Empire—the impressive Greek general who conquered the known world at the time.

but in vs. 4—he died young—and his empire was split into 4 main. Yes there are 5-but 4 main empires.

(map) See the map of Greece.

in this next section, section #2 the prophecy gets crazy.

starting at vs. 5—I am not going to read this whole section—but it gives you a flavor of Daniel.

Daniel 11:5–10 NIV

5 “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. 6 After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. 7 “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. 10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

did you catch all that?

of course not—but this is a detailed, very detailed prophecy of what would happen.

basically from verse 5 - 20 is section 2.

Section 1 was a transition of power from Persia to Greece

Section 2—zooms in on 2 of those 4 kingdoms

so on screen

Section #2: (vs. 5-20) 323 BC - 175 BC 2 Greek Kingdoms: Ptolemy’s and Seleucid’s

(Map) let me show you the map again

here is the Seleucid kingdom — King of the North

and here is the Ptolemy kingdom — King of the South

and out of all the kingdoms—why do you think God would tell Daniel this vision of these 2 vs. the other 2 or 3?

because the people of God are caught right in the middle of this conflict.

and let me show you how detailed this is. but using action figures, dare I say dolls…and army guys.

Daniel 11:5 NIV

5 “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.

that King of the South is the king of that southern Ptolemy empire—Ptolemy 1—

and that commander who is stronger than him is: that refers to the king of the north--Seleucus I--this dude was kicked out of the northern kingdom, became one of the southern kingdom’s princes and eventually regained authority in the north having more power than the south.

so king of south is this action figure—Ptolemy empire

king of the north this one - Seleucid Empire

Daniel 11:6 NIV

6 After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

so after some years—these 2 empire become allies.

The new king of the south--Ptolemy II sent his daughter Berenice to marry the king of the north (Antiochus II) to make the alliance and agreement official. It was common for kings to send their kids in marriage in order to solidify political agreement. However, the king of the north was already married. So the king’s wife--Laodice got mad--poisoned her husband, the king, along with Berenice

look at Daniel 11:7

Daniel 11:7 NIV

7 “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious.

so one from Berenice’s roots, one shall arise in his place--(that’s her brother--Ptolemy III). 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.

(this guy also ended up fulfilling vs. 8 — 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. (Ptolemy III made peace with Seleucus II). Then the latter (the king of the north) shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

you with me? there will be a quiz later.

The point is not to get bogged down in the details—but to see how amazingly detailed this prophecy is to Daniel.

basically verses 5-20 have this kind of battle—reminds us of Jesus saying there will be wars and rumors of wars...

back and forth the king of the north and the king of the south--

The Ptolemy’s and the Seluecid’s fighting each other and for control of Jerusalem—and God’s people caught in the middle.

now let’s skip to vs. 21.

this is section 3---and let me give you the heading

Section #3: (vs. 21-35) 175 BC - 164 BC Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes

and he is a wicked king.

let me give you a flavor of his reign

Daniel 11:21 NIV

21 “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.

that contemptible person is this Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Daniel 11:22–24 NIV

22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. 23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. 24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

so this Antiochus IV Epiphanes acts deceitfully

he is successful in battle.

but most of all—in the angel’s vision he persecutes God’s people

let’s skip to vs. 29

Daniel 11:29–30 NIV

29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

Antiochus starts to show his rage vs. those who keep the holy covenant---so against the Jews—God’s people in Jerusalem.

Daniel 11:31 NIV

31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

this Antiochus will desecrate the temple

stop the daily animal sacrifices for sin

and set up an abomination that causes desoltation

what is that?

Antiochus did this: A meteorite dedicated to Baal Shamem, the Syrian equivalent of the Greek god Zeus, that Antiochus IV set up in the temple. The NT uses the phrase to describe a future sacrilege possibly at the time of Christ’s return (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14).

let me stop there for a moment

what is this whole passage teaching

through

Section 1 — transition from Persia to Greece

Section 2 — battle between the king of the North and South

section 3— zooms in on a wicked king

What is this passage teaching us?

The curtain is pulled back and Daniel and his people are learning; we are learning

That God is absolutely in control, fulfilling his purposes for His people for His glory.

let that idea sink in...

The idea that God is in control typically has 2 big God words:

Sovereignty: His right and power to do all that He pleases

Providence: the exercise of that right and power purposefully (to bring about an ultimate purpose for the universe that cannot fail)

and the question from this passage and others—is how thorough is God’s sovereignty? His providence?

in other words—how much is God in control?

Is he not in control at all? and just hoping that His will will be accomplished? I hope God’s will be done.

is he partially or generally in control? you know angels and demons battle; and we have some free will—but God will basically win—he might lose some along the way

or is he fully in control?

what do we learn from a passage like this?

from a passage like this—I would argue from Scripture that God’s providence is thorough. detailed. all - embracing.

There is nothing outside the universe that lies outside God’s governance and control.

for instance in this passage we see:

God is in control of...

1. The future

It is remarkable that God is this thoroughly in charge and in control of the future. as line by line verse by verse God predicts what is going to happen in the future at an empire level, a kingdom level, and a king.

and it is detailed.

This passage and others show God controlling the future.

this would have been encouraging to Daniel and the people of God back then. Yes, it may not be the future they want—but God’s got it. He’s in control.

and some of you need to hear this this morning—do you really believe that God is in control of the future or not? If you do, this should give you some peace, some rest—that God is going to work things out.

and if you are a control freak—and some of us are—Covid has revealed that---we need to take a huge sovereign chill pill and trust that God’s got the future.

God’s been doing just fine running the universe before us and He will keep doing so long after we are gone.

2. Kings and kingdoms

He is thoroughly in control of kingdoms.

Babylon

Persia

Greece (see Statue)

Ptolemy’s and Seleucids

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

He’s got them all

and He is still in control today of our world power—China, Russia, India, Italy, France, and the United States—Republicans and Democrats and Independents.

Do not forget that every ruler, every nation is only there because God allows—dare I say plans it. whether you like them or not.

I last taught this passage back in 2012—right before another Presidential election—that time when Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were running against each other. (i noticed when I taught on it then—it was contentious) God was at work then, and in 2016 when Trump came to power, and He is at work now in 2021 with Joe Biden in power—and this is not a political endorsement of any of these candidates—but God is the one really on the throne.

If we really believe this—it will affect how much news we consume (hint—don’t over consume)

it will affect how much we argue over politics (hint—don’t argue so much)

and get worried over politics..

God is also in control of:

3. the Good, The Bad, and the Difficult (even persecution)

Remember Daniel and his people were praying for relief. for freedom. we are tired of living under Babylon and now Persia. We want to go home. God had started to answer their prayer by enabling some to go back and rebuild the temple—but it was not full restoration.

and yet—God showed Daniel that more hard times were coming.

Another foreign power—Greece.

caught in the middle of a war

even persecution of God’s people.

it was not going to be easy.

God was teaching his people to persevere.

Don’t give up.

He will use these to help them grow their perseverance muscles.

He will purify them through the difficulty to make holding on to him even sweeter.

now, it is very tempting for us—when life is not going well—a cancer diagnosis, the death of a loved one, relational divisions, to think that God is not in control, or God doesn’t love us—but this passage reminds us through it all—through good and bad, up and down and in the middle that God’s hand is over it all.

4. Over his People

Through it all...

God preservers his people.

He has the last word.

Kingdoms come and go.

Kings come and go.

but His people are preserved through it all.

Some objections:

#1 - What about free will?

if God is really in control—how can I be free?

this bothers us all the time this subject comes up. in response—the Bible does not see a contradiction between God’s absolute sovereignty and our responsibility. they don’t contradict. they complement

for instance Philippians 2:12-13 (quizzers should know this)

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

in addition, when we define freedom—we think that we always have to have absolute freedom can always do otherwise choose otherwise etc.

but that’s not the way the Bible defines freedom.

Biblically speaking, if you are in sin, ruled by sin—even though you are doing what you want--you are not Biblically free. you are a slave to sin.

only those who are set free from sin are truly free. only those who are in Christ are truly free—if the son sets you free you are free indeed.

Think of God—can God sin? can he? no. but is He free?

I would argue HE is the most free being in the entire universe but he cannot sin.

another objection:

Objection #2: If God is in control, Why does God do things this way? Why not just get rid of evil? Why allow it? why this plan? I could have thought of a better plan God for the Israelites back then and for my life.

I don’t always know God’s purposes behind his sovereignty and providence but we get clues along the way

for instance could it be possible that the bad times of life don’t show a God who is out of control--but a God who is so powerful that he can even use the bad times of life for his glory. He can redeem the bad and make it good (even if we don’t understand it). If you ever read the story of Joseph in the OT- a man sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph spends time in prison for years--suffering much injustice and more before rising to an influential position in Egypt where Joseph runs the entire kingdom. Eventually Joseph and his brothers are reunited--and if anyone it seemed had the right to take vengeance, it was Joseph on his brothers. But instead of taking vengeance on them, he saw God’s sovereignty in this.

Genesis 50:20 NIV

20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Last objection:

Objection #3: Even if you say--that sounds nice, Rick. But my story has not turned out well like Joseph’s did. I don’t have a silver lining to any of my story—I was abused, manipulated, betrayed, cheated on, abandoned, life has been one horrible thing after another..

well, I am still sad to hear that and I am glad you are here-

and I won’t pretend to try and give an explanation...

but let me talk about Jesus and the cross.

-but we have a God, even if we don’t understand why he allows us to go through tough times, who gets involved with us and our suffering. We don’t have a God to stays unaffected by our suffering but instead he participates in it. We see this especially in the cross of Jesus Christ--God sent his Son to live among us. Jesus Christ lived perfectly among us--never sinning--get that!

And ultimately, he died as a condemned criminal on the cross-naked, beaten, bruised, bloodied, humiliated. If ever it seemed like God was not in control to us human beings--it was on the cross when Jesus His Son died. Jesus can relate to victims of abuse, to those who are betrayed and denied—because Jesus experienced that.

However, as we read Scripture--we see that God was perfectly in control on the cross--it was part of his plan to send His Son on a rescue mission to die for us. Jesus had to die to pay for the punishment for our sins. On the cross, he took the death and punishment we deserved even though he did not deserve it. on the cross, what seemed out of control--God was perfectly in control--displaying his sovereignty and control, displaying his perfect justice in punishing sin on his Son, and displaying his mercy, grace, and love to us--by saying we are right with him now if we believe in Jesus.

In addition, since we have a God who knows what it’s like to suffer--Jesus experienced poverty, suffering, despair, torture, imprisonment, and death. we can turn to him in our suffering--and be comforted! What an amazing God! b/c of the cross--we can look at God’s control--and say God does love us. he loves us so much he sent his son to die for us--even if it seems like life is out of control for you--the biggest display that God is for you is that he sent us Son to die for you. so it’s phooey to say God’s sovereignty is cold…

As you think about this--and the 4 areas I mentioned of how God is in control of those areas---we can take great comfort, encouragement, joy, and delight, knowing that we serve a God who is in control even when it seems like life is out of control.

Conclusion: Last verse to show—Daniel 11:32

Daniel 11:32 NIV

32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

it is tempting when the world is pressing in, when there is persecution to give in. to not following God. There is not worth in it.

or no one else is following God—I am the only one.

God reminds us the people who know their God will stand firm.

Do you know him?

Do you know that HE is so in control—He is the true king?

and He is the kind of King who left heaven to die for you so you could spend eternity with him—the God who loves you?

You know that—you will resist and keep going and persevering no matter what.

let’s pray.

Final Thoughts: (include this?)

Persevere—(vs. 33-35)

Know Your God (vs. 32)