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the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33

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Daniel 11

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Verses 1-45

Intro: An Angels Apocalyptic Insight
1. Remember the outline of the Angel from ch.10?11:2-11:35(Immediate Future) 11:26-12:4(Distant Future)
2. Daniel here reveals the angels message that had such amazingly detailed predictions of the future kingdoms...that Porphyry (a 3rd cent. heathen philosopher) claimed it was written after the facts.
  1. Many others have followed suit w/the same objection…until 1947 when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found that date back to 200 bc, in which include fragments from every book of the OT(except Esther) [major manuscripts Isaiah, Psalms]
  2. Listen to the detail given. You may think History is boring, but stand enamored by the incredible detail of this Prophecy.
    1. We are not reading history but prophecy, that became history.
  3. Gods purpose of the detail is to see the perfect detail of Gods vision for the future (see His Sovereignty, see His Providence).
  4. Fulfilled prophecy gives you a handle on your tomorrow.
    1. Every tomorrow has two handles. The handle of anxiety & the handle of faith. Many of us want to grab onto the handle of anxiety. But prophecy fulfilled moves us to grab onto the handle of Faith.
3. There are 45 verses here & less than 45 minutes to do it. I will do a running commentary, you won’t grab all the facts, but you can go deeper in any good commentary
  1. Today we will simply crop-dust ch.11.
  2. Get this, there are 135 fulfilled predictions historically documented.
4. The Canadian Army Journal says from 3600 BC till today there has been 3,640,000,000 people that of been killed in warfare. It's estimated value of destruction is a solid gold belt, 100 miles wide, 33’ thick around the circumference of the earth which is the value of destruction of cumulative warfare. And we have a lot of that destruction rt here.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE (1-35)
1. (1) The Angels Apocalyptic Insight
  1. Read 10:21...Tag Team Angels.
  2. This angel, once helped by Michael (10:13,21), now helped Michael (11:1).
  3. Daniel is given the future of his people.
2. (1,2) Medo-Persian kings (Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, Darius II)
3. (3,4) Greek Leaders (Alexander, 4 generals)
  1. Cassander (Ca-Sander) Macedonia & Greece. Lysimachus (lie-SIM-a-chus) Thrace, parts of Asia Minor. Ptolemy (Tol-emy) Egypt & parts of Asia Minor. Seleuces (Sel-EU-cis) Syria, Israel & Mesopotamia.
4. (5-9) Ptolemies vs. Seleucids (Egypt vs. Syria - i.e. South vs. North)
  1. North vs. south & Israel was stuck right in between all the conflict.
  2. 100 year battle back & forth during which time Ptolemy controlled Palestine.
  3. (6) They attempt to make peace w/Syria (Intermarriage for political gain).
    1. Antiochus II was forced to divorce his wife (Laodice) to marry Bernice.
      1. Bernice was the daughter of Ptolemy/The King of the South.
    2. 2 years later Ptolemy died, so Antiochus abandoned Bernice & returned to his former wife.
    3. Laodice gained revenge by poisoning Antiochus & having Bernice murdered.
  4. (7) Ptolemy II was succeeded by Ptolemy III (Bernice’s brother) this called her roots
  5. (8) According to Jerome (wrote the Latin Trans of Bible, 3rd cent) he said Ptolemy took back 2,500 idol statues & 40,000 talents of silver back to Egypt w/him.
    1. Funny...they carried their gods away captive.
      1. Now try to picture our God carried away captive.
      2. The Philistines couldn’t even carry away the Ark of the Covenant…w/o (some bad juju) serious side effects. [we serve a God who carry’s us away]
  6. (9) So Seleuces/Syria conducted an invasion of Egypt which was unsuccessful & had to retreat.
5. (10-20) Antiochus III
  1. Antiochus’ sons, this one was Antiochus III, actually was friendly towards the Jews. His other brother died at the start of the battle.
  2. (10-13) Antiochus III drove the Ptolemies out of Palestine.
  3. (14-16) The Jews fought with Antiochus III thinking he was their savior…opps!
  4. (17-19) Antiochus III attempts to conquer the world.
    1. He sought peace w/Egypt so gave Ptolemy V his daughter Cleopatra 1(not 4th that we know)
    2. He launched an invasion into Asia Minor & Greece...but was pushed back by Rome’s Iron Legion & forced to pay heavy tribute.
    3. (19) Sums up his life’s disappointing end.
    4. (20) Antiochus III’s son Seleucus IV Philopator heavily taxed his people to pay Rome, but he was poisoned (destroyed … not in … battle) by his treasurer Heliodorus.
6. (21-35) Antiochus IV (most popular of Seleucid kings,The Madman, or, Creepius Maximus)
  1. Read 21-24, this all takes place between testaments.
7. (32-35) 2 groups of Jews: the Strong & the Apostates.
  1. Some of the Strong were the Macabee’s who carried out great exploits.
    1. Bad times challenge good people.
    2. What should people do in such times of conflict & destruction? Well, be strong in the Lord. Carry out daring deeds of faith. Still share with others despite persecution & possible death (33).
  2. Corrie Ten Boom, Never be afraid to trust an unknown future in the hands of a known God.
  3. (I summed it up) This knowing their God is...an invitation to have a regeneration. Not a reformation but true transformation, as we experience an amputation of sin & an association w/a family, which leads to an ordination into daily ministry, and is an embarkation of living a rich/satisfying life. Which, in my estimation, I’d give it an exclamation of what now is only a germination of 1 day true jubilation. [but that’s a deviation...so let’s move on...]
8. (35) Judas Maccabaeus family cleansed the Temple & restored Worship…but this wasn’t the end of their troubles.
  1. This purifying will go on until the end.
9. Our reminder is that there are 2 kingdoms. An earthly kingdom that men have fought over for years, for land, for wealth, for power...but always ends in futility. Always ends in emptiness. And, there is another kingdom, a Heavenly Kingdom that Christ preached. Where sacrifice is esteemed. Where generosity is admired. Where love reigns supreme.
  1. 1. It is the kingdom agenda of God. It is thy kingdom come.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE DISTANT FUTURE (36-45)
1. (36) A leader is described who is introduced simply as the king. This is Antichrist.
  1. The details given in these verses were not fulfilled by Antiochus nor any other.
2. (36,37) He will blaspheme God in unthinkable and unheard-of ways.
3. (38,39) He will honor/worship the god of fortresses (strength/military/political/religious).
4. (40-44a) He will defeat many nations sweeping through many countries like a flood, including Israel, Egypt, and Libya.
5. (44b) He will destroy many in great anger.
6. (45) He will be utterly crushed by God.
7. The God of their fathers (37) (some thought, oh he must be a Jew then, but it’s already been stated he comes out of the revived Roman empire (thus a Gentile).
8. He shall not regard...the desire of women some suggested he might be a homosexual. But actually he is saying he repudiates the messianic hope of Israel. Many an Israelite woman had longingly wondered if she would become the mother of the coming Messiah, the nation’s Savior and King.
9. So, a whole chapter on the history of the Jews being between the hammer & the anvil. Slide17 The Seleucids (Syria) killed 50,000 Jews. Then moved down into Caesarea killing 60,000 more. 70 A.D. Rome came in killed 1,300,000 Jews. Constantine outlawed Judaism cutting off the mens ears & banishing many others. During the 5th & 6th centuries no Jews could hold political office nor any important business positions. In the sixth century 60,000 Jews were killed others were sold into slavery. 633 AD when Islam came to power, throughout Saudi Arabia and north Africa it was illegal to be a Jew throughout the whole region. In 8th Century in Spain, Jews were abused and persecuted during The Inquisition. The crusades of the 11th century gave a slogan to their Christian soldiers “Kill a Jew and save your soul” (massive campaign to kill Jews throughout the crusades). In 1350 The Black Plague spread, Who did they blame? Half the population of Jews were destroyed because of that blame. In 1492, while Columbus was sailing the ocean blue, 800,000 Jews were pushed out into the sea dying of drowning and exposure. In World War II Adolf Hitler sent 6 million Jews to their deaths in concentration camps. AND YET...Israel in the war zone continues to survive… As predicted by God.
  1. One of the Queens of England asked her Prime Minister (who was a Bible scholar) “P.M. show me just one thing that proves the Bible is true”. He quickly said, “The Jew madame, the Jew.”
  2. Israel, always right in the middle of the hammer & anvil (north & south).
  3. Here this postage stamp size country, no larger than New Jersey, versus 100 million enemies surrounding her. God shows us here in ch.11, all of the hammering through the years...She Survives!
10. A long time ago a man on Long Island desired barometer. Finally, he had enough money to purchase one, drove into the city, Manhattan, and purchase the finest. Problem was when he got it home the needle seemed to be stuck pointing to hurricane. He was so mad. He wrote a letter & drove it into the city to mail it. Returning home he found not only is barometer to be missing, but his whole house was destroyed by a hurricane. When we read prophecy know...a storm is coming! People have said for years, this bible is broken, there’s no storm coming.
11. Chapter 11 = protection from creditors given to a company in financial difficulties for a limited period to allow it to reorganize.
  1. God is allowing, through ch.11, you to reorganize your life. From those who do wickedly to those who know their God. A storm is coming. Are you prepared?
  2. Prayer: Lord we are spiritually bankrupt without You. We file our spiritual chapter 7/11 before Your Bar.

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Verses 1-45

Intro: An Angels Apocalyptic Insight
1. Remember the outline of the Angel from ch.10?11:2-11:35(Immediate Future) 11:26-12:4(Distant Future)
2. Daniel here reveals the angels message that had such amazingly detailed predictions of the future kingdoms...that Porphyry (a 3rd cent. heathen philosopher) claimed it was written after the facts.
  1. Many others have followed suit w/the same objection…until 1947 when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found that date back to 200 bc, in which include fragments from every book of the OT(except Esther) [major manuscripts Isaiah, Psalms]
  2. Listen to the detail given. You may think History is boring, but stand enamored by the incredible detail of this Prophecy.
    1. We are not reading history but prophecy, that became history.
  3. Gods purpose of the detail is to see the perfect detail of Gods vision for the future (see His Sovereignty, see His Providence).
  4. Fulfilled prophecy gives you a handle on your tomorrow.
    1. Every tomorrow has two handles. The handle of anxiety & the handle of faith. Many of us want to grab onto the handle of anxiety. But prophecy fulfilled moves us to grab onto the handle of Faith.
3. There are 45 verses here & less than 45 minutes to do it. I will do a running commentary, you won’t grab all the facts, but you can go deeper in any good commentary
  1. Today we will simply crop-dust ch.11.
  2. Get this, there are 135 fulfilled predictions historically documented.
4. The Canadian Army Journal says from 3600 BC till today there has been 3,640,000,000 people that of been killed in warfare. It's estimated value of destruction is a solid gold belt, 100 miles wide, 33’ thick around the circumference of the earth which is the value of destruction of cumulative warfare. And we have a lot of that destruction rt here.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE (1-35)
1. (1) The Angels Apocalyptic Insight
  1. Read 10:21...Tag Team Angels.
  2. This angel, once helped by Michael (10:13,21), now helped Michael (11:1).
  3. Daniel is given the future of his people.
2. (1,2) Medo-Persian kings (Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, Darius II)
3. (3,4) Greek Leaders (Alexander, 4 generals)
  1. Cassander (Ca-Sander) Macedonia & Greece. Lysimachus (lie-SIM-a-chus) Thrace, parts of Asia Minor. Ptolemy (Tol-emy) Egypt & parts of Asia Minor. Seleuces (Sel-EU-cis) Syria, Israel & Mesopotamia.
4. (5-9) Ptolemies vs. Seleucids (Egypt vs. Syria - i.e. South vs. North)
  1. North vs. south & Israel was stuck right in between all the conflict.
  2. 100 year battle back & forth during which time Ptolemy controlled Palestine.
  3. (6) They attempt to make peace w/Syria (Intermarriage for political gain).
    1. Antiochus II was forced to divorce his wife (Laodice) to marry Bernice.
      1. Bernice was the daughter of Ptolemy/The King of the South.
    2. 2 years later Ptolemy died, so Antiochus abandoned Bernice & returned to his former wife.
    3. Laodice gained revenge by poisoning Antiochus & having Bernice murdered.
  4. (7) Ptolemy II was succeeded by Ptolemy III (Bernice’s brother) this called her roots
  5. (8) According to Jerome (wrote the Latin Trans of Bible, 3rd cent) he said Ptolemy took back 2,500 idol statues & 40,000 talents of silver back to Egypt w/him.
    1. Funny...they carried their gods away captive.
      1. Now try to picture our God carried away captive.
      2. The Philistines couldn’t even carry away the Ark of the Covenant…w/o (some bad juju) serious side effects. [we serve a God who carry’s us away]
  6. (9) So Seleuces/Syria conducted an invasion of Egypt which was unsuccessful & had to retreat.
5. (10-20) Antiochus III
  1. Antiochus’ sons, this one was Antiochus III, actually was friendly towards the Jews. His other brother died at the start of the battle.
  2. (10-13) Antiochus III drove the Ptolemies out of Palestine.
  3. (14-16) The Jews fought with Antiochus III thinking he was their savior…opps!
  4. (17-19) Antiochus III attempts to conquer the world.
    1. He sought peace w/Egypt so gave Ptolemy V his daughter Cleopatra 1(not 4th that we know)
    2. He launched an invasion into Asia Minor & Greece...but was pushed back by Rome’s Iron Legion & forced to pay heavy tribute.
    3. (19) Sums up his life’s disappointing end.
    4. (20) Antiochus III’s son Seleucus IV Philopator heavily taxed his people to pay Rome, but he was poisoned (destroyed … not in … battle) by his treasurer Heliodorus.
6. (21-35) Antiochus IV (most popular of Seleucid kings,The Madman, or, Creepius Maximus)
  1. Read 21-24, this all takes place between testaments.
7. (32-35) 2 groups of Jews: the Strong & the Apostates.
  1. Some of the Strong were the Macabee’s who carried out great exploits.
    1. Bad times challenge good people.
    2. What should people do in such times of conflict & destruction? Well, be strong in the Lord. Carry out daring deeds of faith. Still share with others despite persecution & possible death (33).
  2. Corrie Ten Boom, Never be afraid to trust an unknown future in the hands of a known God.
  3. (I summed it up) This knowing their God is...an invitation to have a regeneration. Not a reformation but true transformation, as we experience an amputation of sin & an association w/a family, which leads to an ordination into daily ministry, and is an embarkation of living a rich/satisfying life. Which, in my estimation, I’d give it an exclamation of what now is only a germination of 1 day true jubilation. [but that’s a deviation...so let’s move on...]
8. (35) Judas Maccabaeus family cleansed the Temple & restored Worship…but this wasn’t the end of their troubles.
  1. This purifying will go on until the end.
9. Our reminder is that there are 2 kingdoms. An earthly kingdom that men have fought over for years, for land, for wealth, for power...but always ends in futility. Always ends in emptiness. And, there is another kingdom, a Heavenly Kingdom that Christ preached. Where sacrifice is esteemed. Where generosity is admired. Where love reigns supreme.
  1. 1. It is the kingdom agenda of God. It is thy kingdom come.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE DISTANT FUTURE (36-45)
1. (36) A leader is described who is introduced simply as the king. This is Antichrist.
  1. The details given in these verses were not fulfilled by Antiochus nor any other.
2. (36,37) He will blaspheme God in unthinkable and unheard-of ways.
3. (38,39) He will honor/worship the god of fortresses (strength/military/political/religious).
4. (40-44a) He will defeat many nations sweeping through many countries like a flood, including Israel, Egypt, and Libya.
5. (44b) He will destroy many in great anger.
6. (45) He will be utterly crushed by God.
7. The God of their fathers (37) (some thought, oh he must be a Jew then, but it’s already been stated he comes out of the revived Roman empire (thus a Gentile).
8. He shall not regard...the desire of women some suggested he might be a homosexual. But actually he is saying he repudiates the messianic hope of Israel. Many an Israelite woman had longingly wondered if she would become the mother of the coming Messiah, the nation’s Savior and King.
9. So, a whole chapter on the history of the Jews being between the hammer & the anvil. Slide17 The Seleucids (Syria) killed 50,000 Jews. Then moved down into Caesarea killing 60,000 more. 70 A.D. Rome came in killed 1,300,000 Jews. Constantine outlawed Judaism cutting off the mens ears & banishing many others. During the 5th & 6th centuries no Jews could hold political office nor any important business positions. In the sixth century 60,000 Jews were killed others were sold into slavery. 633 AD when Islam came to power, throughout Saudi Arabia and north Africa it was illegal to be a Jew throughout the whole region. In 8th Century in Spain, Jews were abused and persecuted during The Inquisition. The crusades of the 11th century gave a slogan to their Christian soldiers “Kill a Jew and save your soul” (massive campaign to kill Jews throughout the crusades). In 1350 The Black Plague spread, Who did they blame? Half the population of Jews were destroyed because of that blame. In 1492, while Columbus was sailing the ocean blue, 800,000 Jews were pushed out into the sea dying of drowning and exposure. In World War II Adolf Hitler sent 6 million Jews to their deaths in concentration camps. AND YET...Israel in the war zone continues to survive… As predicted by God.
  1. One of the Queens of England asked her Prime Minister (who was a Bible scholar) “P.M. show me just one thing that proves the Bible is true”. He quickly said, “The Jew madame, the Jew.”
  2. Israel, always right in the middle of the hammer & anvil (north & south).
  3. Here this postage stamp size country, no larger than New Jersey, versus 100 million enemies surrounding her. God shows us here in ch.11, all of the hammering through the years...She Survives!
10. A long time ago a man on Long Island desired barometer. Finally, he had enough money to purchase one, drove into the city, Manhattan, and purchase the finest. Problem was when he got it home the needle seemed to be stuck pointing to hurricane. He was so mad. He wrote a letter & drove it into the city to mail it. Returning home he found not only is barometer to be missing, but his whole house was destroyed by a hurricane. When we read prophecy know...a storm is coming! People have said for years, this bible is broken, there’s no storm coming.
11. Chapter 11 = protection from creditors given to a company in financial difficulties for a limited period to allow it to reorganize.
  1. God is allowing, through ch.11, you to reorganize your life. From those who do wickedly to those who know their God. A storm is coming. Are you prepared?
  2. Prayer: Lord we are spiritually bankrupt without You. We file our spiritual chapter 7/11 before Your Bar.

return to 'Top of Page'

DanielDan 10 DanielDan DanielDan 12

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Daniel 11". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/daniel-11.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesDaniel 11

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-45

Verses 1-45

Bible Commentaries
Daniel 11