The Antichrist and Pride
Daniel: The End Times, the Kingdom of God, and Politics (Oh my!) • Sermon • Submitted
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· 57 viewsLooking at this king who exalts himself, prophesied by the angel to Daniel. Most likely fulfilled in history with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek king from the North who persecuted God's people in 175 - 164 BC.
Notes
Transcript
welcome:
we want to welcome you to First Missionary Church—both in person or online
I am Pastor Rick and we are so glad you are joining us.
One quick announcement before turning it to the worship team:
we are taking communion later in the service.
If you are here in person and have not picked up your communion elements, we encourage you to get up anytime now or during the singing and go get some in the front foyer.
if you are at home we encourage you to get some elements ready—crackers or bread and juice as we celebrate communion today and what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.
So again thanks for joining us—and I will turn it over the worship team.
Quizzing recognition:
Kate will call quizzers up on platform;
Kate will lead them through the recitation of Philippians 2:1-11.
She will honor all the quizzers and give stats.
I will come up and honor all the coaches — Eric Litwiller, Michael Wenger who coached one team; Dathen who coached another. Kate who oversaw the whole program and who oversaw practice.
If you are interested in being involved in quizzing in the future—I highly encourage it. It is one of the best ways for your child and you as your help your child to learn Scripture. I have noticed in my own son this year his desire to just read the Word of God on his own.
I noticed last week when I quoted from Philippians in my sermon—there was a row of 4th grade quizzers and they all perked up and listened carefully.
so I want to pray for the Ripple effect this will have and hopefully future seasons of quizzing will have.
Let’s pray
Sermon:
One of the most popular subjects to discuss from the Bible, at least it was for a while, was the End Times and particularly who is the Antichrist.
The Bible depicts that towards the end, there will be growing resistance against Christ, led by a human leader, possibly a system of leaders (under the control and influence of the devil) who will deceive many, persecute God’s people. This is an Antichrist of some kind.
I remember when the Left Behind book series—fiction series---came out in the 90’s and beyond of what the end would look like—and though I don’t agree with everything the book presents (it is fiction!) it does depict a world leader, Antichrist figure deceiving many and rising to power. It makes for an interesting read.
And I have also heard lots of speculation about who is this Antichrist figure…is it a current politician like Joe Biden or Donald Trump (or a past politician).
At the time of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin—people thought he was the Antichrist or the Roman Emperor Nero (or Napoleon)
I have even heard crazy references to different popular figures—using the # 666 which we find in the book of Revelation—the mark of the Beast—you know if you take this famous person’s name, rearrange it, use the Hebrew alphabet and assign a numeric value—then the Antichrist is Barney the Purple Dinosaur from my childhood, which explains a lot.
We can get very off track with this stuff.
Intro to Text:
Well I say all this because in our Daniel passage today—written over 500 years before Jesus Christ would come—we see an Antichrist type figure.
In chapter 11—God ends an angel to give Daniel a vision of the future.
So please turn to Daniel chapter 11:36. Daniel 11:36.
Reminder that Daniel and his people are in captivity.
(statue)
We have been using this statue from chapter 2, when God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a vision of current and future kingdoms.
Thus far, God’s people and Daniel have served Babylon
And now they are under Persia.
And it was revealed in chapter 11—they will serve Greece.
So captivity will continue for a while
and persecution
difficult times are ahead.
and now at the end of chapter 11—the vision continues with a description of a wicked king.
whom we identified last from world history as the Greek Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. who persecuted God’s people tremendously.
Follow along while I read starting at Daniel 11:36.
36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
So this king—Antiochus—who is an antichrist type figure…will be arrogant, boastful, even putting himself about God. we see this in history
and yet we still see that he is only allowed to reign—he is not determining his destiny—God is.
37 He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
so this king will also blaspheme the gods of his ancestors, of his own pagan religion.
The one desired by women—that is a reference to a Mesopotamian god whose worship reserves an important place for women.
38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
not sure what this god is—but he worships a god who gives him (he thinks) power, military might, achievement, success
BTW—we worship this kind of stuff too today.
39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.
now, so far in Daniel 11:36-39—we can match up these things from world history with that Antiochus IV Epiphanes who reigned from 175 - 164 BC.
but starting in vs. 40—the details that emerge, we cannot match up from history, so it leads us to believe that this may be describing a future event.
sometimes prophecies in Scripture can seem to have multiple fulfillments.
It’s almost like if you look at 3 mountain peaks in the distance—they seem together but as you get closer you realize they are separated by miles and miles.
same is true prophetically—one mountain peak is fulfilled in Antiochus—and another mountain peak is in the distance perhaps fulfilled by some future ruler. and the prophet cannot always see that
let me read the rest
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.
41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.
King of North and South we saw last week—these are kings from the Greek empire.
the Beautiful Land is a reference to Israel.
Edom, Moab, and the leaders of Ammon are a reference to nations on Israel’s eastern border.
42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.
43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission.
44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.
45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
so God is warning Daniel of some future figure, and perhaps even some ultimate antichrist figure.
That would magnify himself.
persecute God’s people.
not exalt God.
Let me give you bullet points on what does the Bible overall say about the Antichrist?
3 points
#1: Many antichrists have already come. (1 John 2:18-19, 22-23)
for instance
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
According to the Apostle John—there is not just a future antichrist—but there have been many antichrists throughout history, and we should expect many more to come.
in fact—John says—they went out from us—they were part of the church and arose within the church! antichrist existed within the church!
He goes on to say
22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
so according to this definition—an antichrist is anyone against Christ.
we have had many antichrists in the past like Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and many present, and will have many in the future.
to go along with this: #2
#2: Jesus warned us to be on the lookout for false Messiahs (and false Christs) (Matthew 24:4-5)
Jesus warned of false christs
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
or check out verse 24
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
so don’t be duped—by false messiahs—who really are a type of antichrist. they may look flashy, do miracles and have flashy teaching—but if they are against Christ, they are an anti-christ.
#3
#3: There will be some type of future Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
even though there have been many antichrist type figures throughout history, it still seems safe to say that we can expect some Capital A Antichrist in the future--
Look at what the Apostle Paul says
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
This man of lawlessness—notice a man—sounds a lot like an antichrist figure. The end has not come—Jesus has not come back yet—not until the rebellion occurs (whatever that means a time of people really rebelling against God) and the man of lawlessness, an antichrist figure has been revealed.
so...
Be on the lookout for current antichrists even within the church community—don’t be deceived, if a leader seems too good to be true—they might be! with the prevalence of social media—we are easily deceived into believing the latest article, chart, and graph—be careful what you are consuming.
and expect a future Antichrist—whether that is just one man or a system of people and gov’ts against Christ. We shouldn’t be surprised.
and place our hope in Christ—the one who will defeat this antichrist. all these antichrists are doomed to destruction.
and I want to make this very personal now—in my remaining time.
While we read a passage like Daniel 11—and 1 John describing antichrists---it may seem removed from us. an antichrist is only someone out there—who is really bad.
But the truth is all of us have an Antiochus IV Epiphanes in our heart if we are honest.
look at what John said against in 1 John 2:22
22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.
all of us have that problem...
and one of the biggest problems and ways it manifests itself is:
Pride and Self-exaltation.
look at Daniel 11:36 again
36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
we relate more to this verse than we realize.
verse 36—he does what he pleases.
That is a definition of sin.
Sin is essentially doing as we please. not what God wants and pleases.
All of us are guilty of this.
We see this back with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden did what they pleased. and with Israel the people of God in the OT.
and it goes back farther because they were influenced by Satan.
Satan, the angel created by God, in wanting to be God, rebelled against God, and did as he pleased.
but sin is not just doing as we please--
it is exalting oneself. exalting and magnifying yourself.
that is the spirit of the antichrist right there.
because when we are doing what we please
when we are exalting and magnifying ourselves—
we are displaying that same antichrist spirit
we are being like Antiochus IV Epiphanes
like Adam and Eve in the Garden
like Satan in rebelling against God.
We all have an Antiochus IV Epiphanes
and certainly many of us know the dangers and warnings of Scripture related to pride
18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
It is one of the 7 deadly sins!
Jesus would confront the religious leaders in his day for their prideful spirit.
most of us recognize that pride is an elevated view of one’s self and abilities—we recognize when someone is boasting in oneself and arrogant. It can repel us—make me gag in my mouth.
but there are other forms of pride that are more subtle...
let me give you some examples.
Example #1: for instance one form of pride is actually very negative. this kind of person doesn’t have an elevated view of oneself, but a very low view of oneself; but it’s similar to pride in that it is still very self focused. how do you spot someone like this? It’s that person when you talk to them, they are always talking about the next crisis in their life. “Oh life is so bad…Here’s why.” who is so negative—but it’s like pride in that it still self-focused. They may seem more humble because they are talking negatively—but it is selfish. still very self-focused.
but the grace of God enables us to lift us out of self. it shows us that God loved us so much that He gave His only Son—God sent His Son and humbled him for me to be lifted up before Him because of the cross. Grace elevates us out of self and puts the focus on Jesus.
Example #2: another form of pride is the kind of person who will not take correction. It’s always the other person’s fault. They always have excuses for why something went wrong, or why they did something wrong—it’s the kind of person who gets really defensive when they are questioned, criticized, argued with, or challenged. if you have never said “I am sorry or apologized” (even in the last month!) chances are you are falling into this pride.
currently on Wednesday nights we have a Marriage Ripples experience where couples have date nights and discuss relevant topics. Last Wednesday night was conflict resolution—thankfully my wife and I never argue so we are good! even though we had snow Mr. Baer encouraged you to still watch, journal and discuss—and you need to see this one! this teaching also encouraged us to own our faults.
and why shouldn’t we? go back to grace—the Grace of God encourages us to own our faults. It shows us that it took the death of Jesus Christ to pay for my sin. all of us are sinners and fall short. It shows me that I am so dearly loved to admit and come as I am to God—so why shouldn’t I be quick to admit when I mess up to others b/c I am covered by the grace of God. my experience of grace with God is to own and admit my faults and he shows me forgiveness, love, acceptance, and helps me to own it and not deny it and change.
Example #3: another form of pride is something I see a lot in conversation and we all do it—is when someone is talking, perhaps even saying something very serious, and instead of acknowledging it, we SHIFT the conversation to us. and say “That reminds me about this tragedy in my life and what happened to me.” Or “You think that’s bad, get a load of this story.” Rather than giving a support statement and saying, “That must be tough. sorry to hear that.” we give a shift statement.
I remember at a Youth For Christ training event—this was when I back in Lima—volunteering at a youth center. they helped us understand Shift vs. Support statements.
when a student tells us something like “I had an awesome basketball game or vacation.” often we shift the conversation to us “that reminds me of me.” instead we need to give a support statement. “why was it awesome?” “That’s great—tell me more.”
are you a shifter in your conversation or a supporter?
practice this? I want to try this—get a partner right now—and practice having a conversation. One of you will be the person telling the story or information, and the other your goal is to give support statements, not shift statements. you ready? so one of you will tell story—tell something about what happened to you last week (maybe related to the snow), the other will respond and give support statements—tell me more, why, instead of shifting it to yourself. ready set go.
now switch roles...
how did it go?
one of our staff members said this is a little bit like cats vs. dogs.
cats are most about themselves, and ego-centric—How can I get you my owner to do what I want? Dogs are more focused on the others.
so I guess the interpretation is that cats are satanic and the antichrist…there you go. you heard it here...
one more form of pride—concerns our relationship with God. many of you have heard of the concept of legalism. it is the idea that we are saved by our good works rather than purely the grace of Jesus Christ that He did it—and only He saves me as I put my trust in Him. I can’t earn it or work for it. many of us know that.
but...
we often mix legalism in and think that our right standing with God is based on grace plus something else
yes Jesus saves me...
but I must do enough good more than bad to really be saved
yes Jesus saves me but I must serve enough or volunteer enough to really be saved
yes Jesus saves me but I must not commit any of the really bad sins—yes Jesus will save me for the minor sins but not the major ones.
or another way to put this is sometimes we fall into this idea that there are “real Christians and 2nd class.” There are varsity Christians and JV Christians. and depending on what our standards is—well the varsity Christians are the ones that volunteer the most; the varsity Christians are the ones who do their devotions the most; the varsity Christians are the ones who serve the poor the most and the vulnerable; the varsity ones are the ones who are most passionate about what I am passionate about;
but those things don’t save us; they are the fruit of salvation but not the cause or ground of salvation. in fact, they can become a kind of salvation by works. a salvation by works is dangerous and deadly—because it about magnifying and elevating ourselves (and then add in social media which we can post all about ourselves and all about our views and think we are the good guys and everyone who disagrees is the bad)
no it is only the grace of our Lord that we are saved. purely grace—what God has done through Jesus’ life, death on cross, and resurrection to save us. that is what does
we want to celebrate that by taking the Lord’s Supper.
Invite Penny up to play piano...
remember that communion is open to anyone at FMC who is a believer. You do not have to be a member or regular attender.
Jesus must be your Savior, King, and your most precious Treasure.
Daniel 11 talks about the king who exalted himself.
The junior quizzers highlighted a passage from Philippians 2 that shows not self-exaltation but self-humbling..
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
and here is how by looking to Jesus and what He did
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus Christ did not exalt himself like the king from Daniel 11.
He humbled himself.
Though He is God and had all the advantages and rights as God, he took on human flesh.
He became a servant for us—washing his disciples’ feet.
and most of all—he humbled himself by dying the worst death you could die—both physically and in terms of shame.
When we celebrate communion, we are celebrating that Jesus would humble himself to obey His Father and because He loved us so much.
Without Jesus’ self-humility—we would be lost and on a track to eternity with God.
and as I take that in—it causes me to humble myself, to take my eyes off self and honor and exalt Jesus Christ.
I can’t make you be humble—only Jesus can—as you marvel that He would do that—the king of the universe, the Holy Spirit humbles me.
The bread we are about to take—reminds us of Jesus’ body. Jesus said “This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
and the cup—Jesus said “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Before we eat the bread and drink the cup; let’s take a moment while Penny keeps playing the piano to humbles ourselves, confess any unrepentant sin, and to praise Jesus for dying for us in our place.
(private moment)
Pray
Let’s get the bread ready.
Jesus said this is body given for you—let’s eat in remembrance of His body.
Let’s get the cup ready.
Jesus said this cup is the new covenant in His blood; let’s drink in remembrance of Him.
Amen
let me read Philippians 2:9-11
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Closing announcements:
If you want to grow deeper during this season of preparing for Easter—the season of Lent.
Kids resource—great way for families to disciple children—check out the book Nook or hopefully you have or will get one in the mail (we had a mailing snafu—)
Seek God for the city—buy the ebook
Brianna’s Hope training here at 7pm as we endeavor to start a local chapter here to help with drug and addiction recovery—a great way to humble ourselves and serve to the glory of Jesus
Prayer...
You are dismissed!