Daniel: Week 12

The first 35 verses of Daniel 11 provide 135 prophecies before Jesus Christ's first coming. All of them were fulfilled. We see in these first 4 verses that Alexander the Great was the "mighty king", and after he died, his kingdom was divided among his 4 generals ("the four winds"). Those 4 generals were 1.Lysimachus 2.Cassander 3.Ptolemy 4.Seleucus.

Seleucus ruled in the North (Syria) and Ptolemy ruled in the South (Egypt). This is so significant because Israel is in the crosshairs of these two leaders. Eventually, Antiochus IV Epiphanes seizes the throne in the south. He was an evil man who claimed to be a god. Eventually, Rome sent a fleet of ships to confront him and ultimately humiliate him. On his way back home (v 30), he stopped in Jerusalem and desecrated and destroyed the land of Israel. Jesus even speaks of it (Matthew 24:15).

Daniel 12:32 says, "but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." This has in view the rise of the Maccabean revolt where the people overthrew Antiochus.

Verses 36-45 move from past to future, and from Antiochus to Antichrist. The antichrist is seen as:

-The little horn (Daniel 7)

-the ruler who will come (Daniel 9:26)

-the man of lawlessness (2 Thess 2:3-12)

-the antichrist (1 John 2:18)

-the "beast) (Rev 11-20)

Verses 36-39 describe the Antichrist, and we see a place there where we can be encouraged. Verse 36 says, "till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done", which shows us that the Antichrist has a shelf-life. He will not reign forever.

We also see that God sets the schedule in verse 40 as it reads, "at the time of the end." and that the Antichrist will eventually lose favor with the world in verse 45 when it says, "yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him."

So, when the Antichrist arrives, he will be alluring, deceptive, and have the eyes of the world on him, but that will only last for a season that God determines.

Questions:

1. When you are in the middle of a hard time, how does it help you to know that every hard time has a shelf life?
2. In what ways is it help your faith to know that all 135 prophesies of Daniel 11:1-35 were fulfilled? How should you live in response to that?
3. A new President will be named this week. How will you stay focused on the big picture regardless of who is elected? (Remember, God puts leaders in their place for a reason and a season.)
4. How will you "stand firm" and "take action" to the sphere of influence around you?
5. Please pray for our government and the candidates. Pray for unity, humility, and a Christ-like spirit in our church family. Pray for perspective in that we belong to the One True King. Pray that the church would have the courage to live out our faith to the world around us.

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