Daniel 11:1-45

Foreign changes everybody else okay thank you guys foreign thank you foreign hello hello good morning everybody good morning everybody and welcome to First Baptist Church of Camdenton if you do not know me my name is Nicholas Stidham I'm the family and children's director here of ministry and yeah I just if you're new here I like to welcome you here our mission here is loving God loving each other loving our community and loving the world some announcements that are going on October 31st we're having Trunk or Treat here in the parking lot over here and the theme is through the decades and we are looking to get 750 pounds of candy and according to the bulletin we have about 50. We might have some more because I've been telling people are donating but we need your candy so that we can make an impact and try to reach out to people there also we are having a new members class I should have announced it last week but I'm announcing it right now too so today but also through the 30th each Sunday we're meeting in the conference room in the office to talk about what membership in the church looks like here specifically and also if you haven't registered for your Wednesday night meal yet go ahead and do that way we have an accurate number of how many meals we can make or Miss Judy's team you can do that by either calling the church office and Taylor will help you with that or there's a QR code in the bullet tin that you can scan with your phone and it'll lead you to link and right now Spencer Grammer is

Going to come up and do the Baptist Faith Message hey thank you this is the day Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad we ought to be glad this morning you know I was thinking about this the other day you look around I want to look around everybody every believer in here we're going to spend eternity with now don't groan because I'm going to be there but we should be happy and rejoiced now not just wait till we're in heaven anyway if you got your bulletins you know what says bfm 2000 now honest answer how many of you know what bfm stands for oh so okay it's Baptist faith and message and it was 2000 was the last revision the first one was 1925. Now I know some of you may have been there I'm not too sure but the revision was 1963. And then the latest is not excuse me latest was two thousand so we've been working through just sharing section by section of that in the morning service just to kind of keep people refreshed of what the main beliefs are of the Baptist Church and our beliefs too so tonight today even though it says God the Father we're going to skip God the father and go right to God the son because that is what I got so God the son I wasn't here all right Christ is the Eternal Son of God and his Incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God taken upon himself human nature with this demands and necessities and identifying himself completely with mankind yet without sin he honored the Divine Law by his

Personal obedience and his substitutionary death on the cross he made Provisions for the Redemption of men from sin he was raised from the dead with a glorified body that appeared to his disciples as the person who was with them before his crucifixion he ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where he is the one mediator full of God fully man in whom whose person is affected and Reconciliation between God and man he will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate his Redemptive Mission he now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord amen right and for references in Scripture we go to Colossians 1 15-23 says he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in him and on Earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning that firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on Earth or in heaven Making Peace by the blood of his cross and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil Deeds he has now reconciled in his body of Flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard which has been proclaimed in all creation under Heaven of which I Paul become a minister thank you well now is the time as has been kind

Of our tradition or a habit for us to prepare our hearts and our minds for worship our worship today it doesn't start and end with the singing our worship starts with our gathering even before that as we rise and prepare ourselves to come meet the Lord at his designated meeting that he has chosen for us and invited us to be a part of so I'd invite you to Bow your heads and close your eyes as we prepare ourselves maybe this morning has been particularly difficult for you getting children out of bed getting husbands out of bed maybe there is an argument on your way in today maybe you're going through a hard time in life through trials and suffering know that God has a plan for his people that he uses the trials and the suffering to prepare us for eternity with him lay down your anger and your frustration at the foot of the cross lay down your burdens for his yoke is light Lord we come before you today asking that you would prepare our hearts and Minds for worship that Lord we would worship you the way you want to be worshiped in spirit and in truth God we pray that you would help us to lay aside those things that would hinder us Lord help us seek after you even as we raise our voices together Lord let the music not be a distraction or a thing that we get hung up on but Lord let it be a help to us as we together declare your Praises because you're worthy you are worthy by your nature Lord help us to praise you for it today it's in Jesus name that you allow us to come before you and pray amen

I'd invite you to now stand with me as you're able and join us in our worship through song [Music] foreign [Music] turn back to praise when the darkness closes in Lord still I will say blood be the name of the Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glorious name [Music] Blessed Be Your Name when the Sun's shining down on me when the world's all as it should be blessed be your name thank you said be your name on the road marked with suffering though there's pain in the offering Blessed Be Your Name every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to pray when the darkness closes in Lord still I will say blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glorious name you give and take away my heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name oh you give and take away you give and take away and my heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glorious name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name Jesus blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glorious [Music] [Applause] you know I can't help but think of the book and the story of job as we sing that song Lord you give and you take away but still I will say blessed be the name of the Lord through trials and tribulations still his name remains worthy of our praise worthiness he reached down to us and made a way for us to be reconciled to

Him though we were still sinners foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] are you [Music] [Applause] walking daily by the Savior's side are you washed in the blood of the land and has each moment in the crucified are you washed in the blood of the land ing blood of the Lamb all your garments spotless are they white as snow are you washed in the blood of the land when the bridegroom cometh will your rose be white are you washing the blood of the Lamb will your soul be ready for the Mansion pride and be washed in the blood of the Lamb are you washed in the soul cleansing blood of the land [Music] lay aside the garments that are stained with sin and be washed in the blood of the land of the fountain flowing for the soul Uncle be washed in the blood of the land are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb are your garments fathers are they white as snow are you washed in the blood of the Lamb are you washed my soul cleansing blood of [Music] otherwise [Music] [Applause] well the natural question is are you is that you this morning is it you this morning when's the last time you asked yourself yeah that can be a tough internal conversation right am I washed but here's the beauty we are assured that we can be sure that we can absolutely be sure of where we will spend the eternity of whether or not Jesus has cleansed us washed Us in his blood

By the power of the cross [Music] thank you foreign [Music] of what depths of Peace when fears are still striving seeds my comforter My All In All here in the love of Christ [Music] In Christ Alone took on flesh fullness of God in heaven this gift of love and righteousness scorned by the ones he came to save till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied for everything on him was laid here in the death of Christ I live [Music] light of the world thy Darkness [Music] [Applause] again and as he stands in victory since cursed has lost its grip on me for I am here [Music] with the precious blood of Christ [Music] no guilt in life no fearing death this is the power of Christ in me from life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny no power of hell no scheme of man can ever me from his hand till he returns or he calls me home hearing the power of Christ I'll Stand [Music] no power of hell no scheme of man can ever block me from his hand till he returns or calls me home here in the power of Christ I'll Stand amen [Music] what does it mean to stand in the power of Christ by the way it doesn't mean to physically stand if you need to be seated go right ahead it doesn't bother

Me at all I just ask that you worship what does it mean to stand in the power of Christ just a couple songs ago we had a bunch of questions have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power are you walking daily by the Savior's side but in that fourth verse starts with a command lay aside the garments that are stained with sin garments here and in the Scriptures they're used it's used to represent your life lay aside that old life that's stained with sin and instead be washed in the blood of the Lamb instead put on those clean garments that are offered freely to you if only we will believe we're going to end our song service today with a hymn that's my absolute favorite it's be thou my vision and we're we're just asking God to lead us through life in our new in our new garments in our new Walk With Jesus we're asking him to lead us on so I'd invite you to join me as we together not just as individuals here gathered but as a church body the very Body of Christ I'd ask you to join me as we sing to our Lord be my vision let nothing else be important to me except that you are my best thought by day or by night waking or sleeping your presence is my light [Music] be thou my vision no Lord of my heart Lord we all asked to me say that thou now my best thought by day [Music] or sleeping thy presence my life thank you be thou my wisdom be thou my true word I ever [Music] on the riches I need not

Norman's empty praise thou mine inheritance now and always first in my heart hiking of Heaven my treasure Thou Art charged High King Of Heaven when Victory is one may I reach Heaven's joys of bright heavens Heart of My Own Heart whatever before still be my vision oh ruler of All Heart of My Own Heart whatever before still be my vision for ruler of all Lord help us to put off the old and take on the new God help us to embrace the new life that you give us through Christ we were dead and you have made us alive Lord help us seek for you to be our vision our wisdom our source of Truth Lord help us to run head long after you and to praise you and worship you with every action every thought every breath because you're worthy it's in Jesus name that we pray amen it's good to be together in the house of the Lord amen if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please open up to Daniel chapter 11 Daniel 11. I do want to take a moment and we had to change a date on something for our Men's Ministry we were going to do a hunting rifle site in on the 29th but that's kind of the first weekend of Youth rifle season and so we wanted to do it on the 22nd so we're going to be out at John Wilbur's place it's gonna be a great time and so please make sure that if you want to get your hunting rifle sighted in it's a great time to do it we're going to shoot some guns eat some food it's gonna be great

Yeah it sounds like fun now we are in Daniel 11 and if you have been here you know that we've been in Daniel since Easter and we are very close to being done with this book now we are going to get through most of the book most of this chapter today we're going to stop at verse 35 because next week we're going to be talking about the Antichrist and I think that probably deserves more than just about five minutes and so today we're talking about a future history we're going to be looking at two proofs that time belongs to God and as we're kind of starting out this passage here in chapter 10 remember that it's the third year of the reign of King Cyrus who's the King of Persia and he sees this heavenly visitor and what we're talking about is that a christophany is that a Heavenly being and either either way this message is coming to him and in chapter 11 remember that chapters and verses and those little sections in your Bible they are not part of the inspired word of God okay like it's not like there was a author that said chapter 10. You know it's not written that way those are there they were they are there to help us navigate to be able to identify where you know certain parts of God's word and so that's why they're there but you don't see any kind of natural change there and so this is the Heavenly being continuing to talk it's not a new thought or anything like that it's still a continuation of the vision from chapter 10 and so if you're kind of confused on where we're at go back and listen to next week because we just that's how we preach we just take God's word and we work through it amen we believe that's sufficient we believe that it's the only firm foundation for us to stand on and I as I was

Studying this passage I was like man do I really can't can I preach through 45 verses and 35 45 minutes and I came to that conclusion that I can't I can't do it so we're going to break this up now as I was reading this passage I was kind of shocked that there were some commentators that they view this passage as what's called a pseudo prophecy what they mean by that is they believe that this passage was not written by Daniel but was written sometime in the 100s and that was to look back on history and see God's hand and they say well this is so historically accurate that it must have been written after the events happened and listen we reject that position amen we believe that this is prophecy that it's not just God telling that this is what is going to happen but that God he exists outside of time so he's not just merely foretelling the future he tells it like it is because he exists outside of time which is a big thought for us as creatures who are constrained by Time by location and so God he is not merely telling but he is decreeing exactly what is going to happen we believe in the inerrancy and the infallibility of God's word and so we hold to this being truly prophecy totally historically accurate God inspired this we believe every part of God's word is spiritual and practical one of the conservative commentators that I was reading he had quoted another guy who was trying to make the case that this passage cannot be preached it doesn't make for good preaching we believe that all of God's word is inspired and that all of it is useful for teaching for reproof for correcting

For training in righteousness that the man of God might be perfect incomplete lacking in nothing amen now that's what we believe and I hope that you believe that as well and we're going to be breaking down this passage we're not going to read all 36 verses in one standing you're welcome but we are going to be reading the first six verses of chapter 11 together and so if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Daniel chapter 11 verses 1 through 6. God's word says this and as for me in the first year of Darius the mean I had 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 risen this 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 in her attendance he who fathered her and he who supported her in those times let's pray and so God we do give this passage to you there's probably many that are in here going what does that mean and I pray that you would give us understanding as we set up set about

Interpreting this prophecy and help us to rightly apply it to our lives God we believe that your word is living and active that it's totally applicable to today and so give us spiritual minds and hearts that we might go and make a very real Invisible impact in our world we give it all over to you Lord and just ask for you to do a great work in Jesus name amen thank you well in the beginning God made the heavens and the Earth and he made all things seen and unseen visible and invisible and not long after he made all of these things he made man and he made man in his own image and behold it was all very good now it wasn't too long after all that took place at Satan slithered into the garden he deceived the woman who then offered the fruit to her husband who was standing there with her and the whole world descended into chaos and into turmoil you know the saying all good things have to come to an end it was literally the best thing and it had to come to an end and since then it's been a cycle of Good and Evil righteousness and darkness we've seen Empires come we've seen Empires go but the word of the Lord remains forever now how many of you guys are fans of History like you like learning about history and so how many of you okay so how many of you are not fans of History you're just like it's just words on a piece of paper it's just people events times all right praise the Lord I thank the Lord for you I was driving down the road on Friday and I was listening to Billy Joel and that song We Didn't Start the Fire came on right you guys know that song how many yeah okay all right so you know it's we'll we'll Fortune Sally Ride heavy metal suicide foreign debts homeless vets AIDS

Crack Bernie gets hypodermics on the shores China's under martial law Rock and roller coaster Cola Wars I can't take it anymore and we didn't start the fire so I started yeah it's like yeah we made the piano piano man where's our Piano Man there he is the whole point of that song is to show that ever since the beginning it's just been chaos it's a tough world that we live in they're seemingly endless amounts of names and events that could continue going down that list that those were just things that happened in the 1950s that's what Billy Joel was writing about there and we could we could add on to there a whole host of things that have happened in the last two years three it'd be a 20-minute song and yet we also have to ask this question is there anything in all creation that God does not have a hand in either allowing or decreeing or directing do we believe that God anticipates history or do we believe that God authors it and is involved in it and is working towards a plan how we answer that question determines a lot about what we think about God see in verses one through four we see this first proof which is a top-down view of History a top-down view of history now you might recall in chapter 8 when we talked about the Ram with the two horns that was the medo-persian Empire and the Goat that would come we talked a lot about that it's a medo-persian Empire the rise of Alexander the Great now this passage that we're reading Daniel he is in there with the medo-persian Empire just as God had foretold just as God had said would happen and so now he is talking about the rise of Alexander the Great but before he

Does that he also knows that the medo-persian Empire will not last it's not an eternal Kingdom it's not God's Kingdom in fact according to the vision that there it says that there is going to be three more Kings and the fourth King is going to be extremely wealthy and he is going to try to expand into Greece he's going to attack that Nation this fourth King is actually King Xerxes whom Esther was married to it's really cool for us to kind of look back and say well we can we can clearly see this but we also know that Xerxes he went and he attacked the nation of Greece and he lost to the Greeks in the Battle of Salamis this is a artist's rendition of it was a sea Battle it was a major historical event where one Empire was defeated by a much smaller Empire and this is what the vision means when it says in verse two and when he has become strong through his riches he is Xerxes he's very strong very wealthy he shall stir up against he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece and so God he doesn't continue on down the middle Persian line his thought turns towards Alexander and Alexander here's another picture of him you guys might remember him it says then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do as he will and we're not going to spend a lot of time on Alexander because we talked about him a lot in chapter eight but I do want to remind you of what kind of that big point was that even the greatest men in all of history are just a footnote when they don't have God this was a man who conquered the entire Known World in such an extraordinarily short amount of time especially for the ancient world and he conquered it and did whatever he pleased now Daniel I want you to remember that he writes this Vision down for us in the

Third year of King Cyrus's Reign which is in 536 BC Alexander dies in 323 BC and so hundreds of years before Daniel before Alexander even comes onto the scene Daniel knows exactly what's going to happen this great leader he is going to die and he's not going to leave any heirs that's what it means in that verse when it says that but not to his posterity he doesn't have any heirs and it's divided to his four generals which we've talked about the second proof that I want you to notice here is that it is a first hand account the word shall appears in this passage 123 times in chapter 11. We see it shall happen it is part of God's plan and so God he's not only predicting history he is causing history to move toward a predetermined end you look at verses five through nine what does it say 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 shall come to the King of the North to make an agreement but he shall not retain the strength of her arm and he and his arm shall not endure but she shall be given up and her attendance he who fathered her 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 he shall deal with them and shall prevail he shall also carry off to each of 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 now when we see the King of the South and the King of the North we have to ask that question what is

North and south at this point is it North of Babylon is it south of Babylon is it where you know Daniel currently is no he's he is using the point of reference in verse 16 as the Glorious land which is Jerusalem the promised land and so it's if you're not good at geography it's between the E and the m and Ptolemy and the p is silent so it's right there north of that is the what we call the cellucid Empire and south of that is the Ptolemy Empire we should use the words Kingdom instead but this passage is fulfilled when Antiochus II decided to divorce his wife there was a political Alliance that was being forged so that they could have some semblance of peace well the problem was that Antiochus was already married to a woman her name was leiadis and so they said well you know we can we can have he's saying I can have two wives and that always causes trouble and so he forges a marriage alliance with told me through a lady named Bernice now laades she was obviously worried if he gives her a bill of divorce that means that her son is disavowed that he cannot inherit the throne and it would just be bad news and so she decided that she would poison both her husband and his new wife thus fulfilling she shall not retain the strength of her arm and he in his arm shall not endure they were killed and in that same year Bernice's father he died as well fulfilling what it says in verse six so then Bernice's brother told me II he comes on to the scene he fulfills verse 7. And he came and he executed laodice for poisoning his sister any pillaged Syria does fulfilling verse 8. And so there's this season of Peace when you said IV marches against Ptolemy III and he is defeated thus fulfilling verse

9. And then he we learn in verse 10 that told me he goes to war with a man named Antiochus look at verses 10. Open up your Bible she got a follow along here guys all right otherwise you're going to be like oh I don't get it okay the study of God's word is worth it and I promise you we'll get there stay with me okay verses 10 through 12 20 it says this 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 and 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 keep that in mind okay we're continuing on 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 in the forces of the South shall not stand or even his best troops and 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 and 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 and 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 many

Shall capture and shall capture many of them excuse me 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 be an exacter of tribute for the glory of the Kingdom but within a few days he shall be broken neither in Anger nor in battle now once again we see with astonishing accuracy what God's word is telling us because we see for example the ptolemys of EG they once again they were fighting against that northern kingdom and a lot of those battles took place in modern day Israel and the Jewish people they actually joined the fight to fight against the Egyptians fulfilling verse 14. In verse 15 he it was fulfilled as well when Antiochus pursued told me into the land of sidon and he hold himself up and they had this massive Siege which he lost in Daniel 11 we see the Fulfillment of Prophecy of over a dozen leaders actual historical people fulfilled to the T over and over and over and over again in verse 17 we see Antiochus III he made a marriage treaty with Ptolemy V and he marries off his daughter Cleopatra who is not the same as one as Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony's but was her ancestor and she wound up using her political leverage for her husband instead of for her father thus fulfilling verse 17. In Antiochus he focuses on the Mediterranean after after he realizes they can't get anywhere there he starts looking at the waters what are the lands out there that I can conquer thus fulfilling verse 18. And he was also defeated by a commander and this guy his name is he's a Roman general of Scipio asiaticus and here's some coins with his face

On them and so once again he actually stood and he opposed this war of aggression because the Romans they were at that point in time rising in power gaining influence during that season those fulfilling verse 19 and Antiochus had to go back to his own land and he died on the way there once again we just see God's word being proved totally true over and over and over again in verse 20 Antiochus he's succeeded by celius IV in 167 but then he's assassinated after he had attempted to loot the Lord's Temple fulfilling verse 20. Guys if you're wondering if God's word is true or not listen to me it is totally true and it is trustworthy and so what God says here we can trust that What God Says elsewhere is also true and I want you to notice that in these verses from 2 to 20 it's all about war and deception you have these two kingdoms fighting back and forth and there's no real clear winner over this 200 year span of History and there's so many lives that are spent and so much wealth that is used for these wars and we notice that with all of the efforts of mankind what did they ultimately accomplish nothing nothing changed I mean sure you might have an Empire rise but then they fall you might have evil for a day and then it goes way it's almost like what the preacher says in Ecclesiastes Vanity Vanity of vanities all his vanity what does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils Under the Sun a generation goes and a generation comes but the Earth remains forever but here's the thing from our human perspective from our physical eyes we see nothing

Changes but we as Believers know something that most people don't that God has an eternal plan that he is working towards he is behind the scenes doing what he does best and we believe that there is a Heavenly Eternal Kingdom that we strive for you see we don't we don't live for this world we're not supposed to live for this world I should say Christian see we've got a we're at through faith alone in Jesus Christ we are children of God ambassadors of Christ and when we are born again we are given that Living Hope to now we don't pour ourselves out for the kingdoms of this world we pour ourselves out for the kingdom of God and because he is worth it we can strive for this eternal Kingdom it's not one that's going to rise and collapse there are believers beheaded in Nigeria there are churches that are burned in the Sudan there are Christians in China that have to go through re-education camps there are there are Christians in Canada who have been imprisoned for just meeting together there are believers in North Korea that are enforced labor camps and all of these things are trials and tribulations and we endure despite the Flames of persecution because we know that there is a better Kingdom for us to live and die for and we know that as Christians we see the kingdom of the north and in the South warring and the people of God are kind of caught in the middle and yet we also see that during this time it's because they are they are fighting against each other that Rome is able to expand and able to grow and able

To conquer and they were able to bring in What's called the Pax Romana that over 200 years of relative peace in the world and it was under those circumstances that Christ brought that God brought the Christ into the world and so the people of God they look at this and all they see is chaos and turmoil and a heartache and hate and yet God he's working about a better Plan of Redemption for his people and so this teaches us that in spite of all the war in spite of all the persecution and all the hate that we have a God who alone controls the ultimate end of History yeah you know in social media and with especially teenagers you know it's very sarcastic and everyone's talking about nuclear war nuclear war nuclear war all this kind of stuff you know the fact is that God is control of all in control of all of it he we don't have to worry about all of that God has already told us how the end will come and it's not going to come through the boom of men but through the coming of the son of God that's how it's all going to end and so we don't have to fear we don't have to worry you know what Christians are called to do we are called to go and make disciples of all the nations and teach them to observe all that God has commanded us baptizing them in the name of the father and the son the Holy Spirit that's what we're called to do so let's do that we know that's something that we can do amen now we also see this other guy that we've talked about in depth in previous sermons in verses 21 through 23 so we won't go into too much discussion on this guy but he his name is Antiochus the fourth epiphanies

And he was the brother of celius's the fourth and he was the one who threw Intrigue he was able to get the kingdom and take over being the king of that area let's look at verses 21 through 35. God's word says this in his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom Royal Majesty has not been given okay so there's this Intrigue he gets there by Partnerships and by coercion and he is just a wonderful in the worst way wonderful political enemy look at what it says and he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken even the prince of the Covenant now when it says that a covenant can be understood in different ways doesn't necessarily just mean through the Old Testament Covenant it can also mean political covenants as well and from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully and he shall come become strong with a small people without warning here shall come into the richest parts of the province and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his father's fathers had done scattering among them plunder spoils and goods he shall devise plans against strongholds but only for a time and he shall stir up his power in his heart against the King of the South with a great Army and the King of the South shall wage war with an exceedingly Great Mighty Army but he shall not stand for plots shall be devised against him even those who eat his food shall break him his army shall be swept away and many shall fall down slain as for the two kings their hearts shall be bent on doing evil they shall speak lies at the same table but to no avail for the end is yet to be at the time appointed this is a direct fulfillment of tomyphilapater and Antiochus

Epiphanies they did this in 169 but their plans didn't succeed and why does it say that why didn't their plan succeed because the end is yet to be at the time appointed and he shall return to his land with great wealth but his heart shall be set against the Holy Covenant and he shall work his will and return to his own land at the time appointed he shall return and come to the South this is once again talking about Antiochus and but it shall not be this time as it was before for ships of kittum shall come against him the kitten is the ancient word for the island of Cyprus and he shall be afraid and withdrawal who what was going on why was he afraid why was this man who was apparently so great why was he afraid we'll we'll see that it's because the Romans that's Cyprus is an island that's right near Italy in the Romans that's during their great tremendous and quick rise to power this is a direct fulfillment of gaia's populist lanus who opposed Antiochus with his Roman Legions in 168 it says that he shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the Holy Covenant historians they've actually said that when Gaius and Antiochus met that guy has just took a stick okay his picture this the sea is just full of boats in the Roman Legions just waiting for battle and Antiochus sees this huge Army and there's no way that he's going to win and so Gaius just takes a stick draws it around Antiochus and says if you leave this circle and intend to fight you will be killed you can see him taking that stick in that Circle right around his feet it's obviously very intimidating and you know what happens is that Antiochus withdrawals just like God said he would

And he also returns to Jerusalem to take his anger out on the Jewish people look at what the Scripture says it says he shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the Holy Covenant forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and Fortress and shall take away the regular burnt offering and they shall set up the Abomination that makes desolate and we talked about Antiochus setting up the temple to and honoring up putting up a statue of Zeus in the Lord's Temple offering up pigs and some historians even have said they offered up a human defiling a temple the Scripture goes on it says and he shall seduce with flattery those who violate the Covenant this was fulfilled as well a Jewish mercenary named apollonius he made peace with the city and after he was able to go in he just started slaughtering everyone men women children but this is this is great but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action and the wise among the people shall make many understand though for some days they shall stumble by sword and Flames by captivity and plunder when they stumble they shall receive a little help and many shall join themselves to them with flattery and some of the wise shall stumble so that they may be refined purified and made white until the time of the end for it's still awaits the appointed time and I want you to notice here that's in the midst of this season of persecution that there were there were many people who compromised and who buckled under the pressures of society and under threats and we could just we could just be tempted to look at this and go well that's distant history that's not applicable listen to me brother it is applicable to you right now

There are going to be times and situations where you are going to be tempted to compromise on doctrinal issues on theological issues on social issues on moral issues the world will not stop in trying to get you to compromised it's not going to stop it's a Relentless flood and the only way that you can stand firm is to stand on the word of God Alone that's the only way that's going to happen and so how are here are some ways that we can apply this passage to where we're at here as 21st century Believers at First Baptist Church of Camdenton first thing I want you to know is that we are called to believe we are called to believe verse 32 it says that the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action so my question is are you washed in the blood do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior because otherwise you will not be able to stand you can know that you gain eternal life by repenting of your sin and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for your sin that what he did on the cross was for you and that he actually did raise again or rise again on the third day and so my question is do you know him because we're called to and right now he commands every person everywhere to repent of their sins and believe in him because one day listen to me it will be too late you're not guaranteed tomorrow you're not guaranteed this afternoon one of these days it will be too late for you to turn to Christ don't wait and we see that God he is working out his Sovereign purposes in every area of History God he's he wasn't just intimately involved in the details from 500 BC to 100 A.D God is still involved right here right now he's not some impersonal mystical Distant Force he is God of very God and so no matter

What happens with Russia or China or the Ukraine or whatever comes up in the next 10 years we will not fear because we know the Lord and secondly we know that we are called to resist Faithfully resistance doesn't mean to fight with our guns so as Americans we have every right and duty to do so resistance means to stand firm and to take action and it's interesting that Paul when he's talking about what our battle is against what our Real Enemy is look at what he says in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 14. Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to what stand against the schemes of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic Powers over this present Darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly places and therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm stand therefore and he continues on and in Daniel 11 33 it tells us that the wise among the people shall make many understand though for some days they shall stumbled by sword and Flame by captivity and plunder the lost in this world they see standing for Christ as being unreasonable as being foolish and so I want to encourage you to be a fool for Christ be foolish for Christ relentlessly pursue him no matter the cause because he's worthy of it all he's the king and he's worthy to be foolish for you know when you love something you're okay being a little foolish for you're you're okay kind of saying some mushy stuff right babe you're okay doing those type of things thirdly we are called to teach those who are around us but what does the passage

Say we are make them make them able to understand to bring understanding that history has a goal history has a purpose it's not just some arbitrary list that Billy Joel wrote back in 1989. It's not just all these different names and events history has a goal and we are called to teach people what that goal is that Christ has come to redeem sinful men like you and like me that he looked on us not with hatred but with love that he looked upon us in our vile state yet while we were while we were yet sinners Christ died for us that's how he demonstrates his love toward us and so we're called to teach people and we're we have been entrusted with the words of eternal life and so we've got these friends we've got these neighbors we've got these family members how are they going to know the Gospel unless we tell them how are we going to make disciples unless we're willing to go out and make them how are we going to share and see people enter into the kingdom if we're not able to be foolish for Christ history is going to come to a climax and those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as their as their Savior they are going to be separated eternally from God in a terrible place called hell and we don't want that for our friends we don't want that for our neighbors we don't want that for our lost family members so let's let's have some wisdom show some wisdom and declare the truth of the Gospel with Grace and with love you know what else we should also teach is that the kingdoms of this Earth are unstable since sinful men lead the Earth's kingdoms they're going to fight they're

Going to have War they're going to grow they're going to die that they are going to have success they're going to fall but God's kingdom is stable and enduring and I think that there's many in our world that want something that's stable and enduring secondly Antiochus he was able to get the people of God to cooperate with him there for a little bit he was able to seduce them with flattery those who violate the Covenant but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action that's what verse 32 says you see the church it can and it should resist the Temptations and the teachings that are prevalent in the world and so Sinclair Ferguson he wrote down three areas specifically that the church is supposed to guard against doctrinal moral and spiritual issues we don't compromise on those if that makes me bullheaded then I'm sorry but the church has been entrusted with the words of life to share with the world and if the church compromises on the word then we don't make friends with the world we make ourselves enemies of God thirdly the aim of the world is to destroy the work and the people of God see even after they have been deceived they were still slaughtered by the enemy because the world hates God in its natural state obviously not something that you lead with in chapter 11 the word but appears 23 times that man he has his course of action but God but that shall not happen it's not the right time it's not the right place it's not the right person man makes his plans God intervenes and he gets involved and so we do see this balance here even in this chapter of the will of man and the sovereignty of God

Moving forward this wonderful balance in verse fourth thing is in this final lesson is that God he is working in and through the circumstances that are around us if you look at verse 35 it says that some of the wise shall stumble so that they may be refined purified and made white until the time of the end for it still awaits the appointed time is totally brings us back to what Paul wrote in chapter Romans chapter 8 verses 35-37 who shall separate us from the love of God shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake we are being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and the last thing that we are called to do is we are called to pray because remember that Daniel the whole context of this is as a result of Daniel praying and fasting for three weeks so what about you are you overwhelmed with things that are happening in this world because it can feel hopeless unless we remind ourselves of the hope of the Gospel remember that Christ he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly and so my question is will you carry this message of the hope of Christ of God to your family this week to your friends this week to your neighbors this week to your co-workers this week men will you teach your children are you going to surrender that ground that the Lord has given to you women are you going to pray teen are you going to resist Faithfully not with an attitude of rebellion but with a Christ-like Outlook of love and mercy

What about you person who may not know Christ that's in here today will you turn to him the great and Sovereign God of the universe who loved you and is calling you right now out of darkness and Into His Marvelous Light will you respond to the Gospel call to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ I mean if you're looking for some great evidence to believe in God this is great evidence will you harden your heart we re will you resist him will you repent and believe head hand heart he had I want you to know that God is intimately involved in history and he is still working even in the midst of what we feel like is confusion and Chaos which is always the result of sin God is using it to bring about Redemption and we may not understand it but one day we will we will give God all the glory for all of his handiwork it'll be on the other side of Eternity when that happens but one day we will know and we will give him all the glory for his wisdom and purpose and I want you to take time this week and maybe identify the way that the kingdoms of our world are unstable and contrast that with how God's kingdom is totally stable contrast it and remind yourself of the Eternal truths that are found in God's word and heart I want you to believe that God's plan will not be prevented can't be stopped who can resist God's plan Satan can't you can't I can't the federal government can but God's plan will be done and it will be completed and it will end with Christ returning to Earth full of radiant glory and so we look forward to that day just

As all good things must come to an end so must also all the bad things as well and until that time we are called to endure we are called to pray we're called to share the Gospel be ministers seeking out the Lord and working for his glory if you would just bow your heads and close your eyes with me as we respond through prayer and then we'll stand together and we'll worship so God I do pray for each person that's in here thank you for your word and thank you that you're in control and we're not that are Futures remain secure because of what you've done for us on the cross and that even from creation Lord your word says that Christ was the Lamb of God slain from the foundations of The World God thank you that's your plan not only came true through your son but is going to come through through a second Advent and that heaven and earth might pass away but you remain forever God help us Lord to live like Christians who believe that God and are willing to pour ourselves out for your kingdom we love you dear Lord Jesus name amen let's all stand and let's worship together [Music] we'll sing together in Christ alone my hope is found In Christ Alone my hope is found he is my light my strength my song This Cornerstone this Solid Ground firm through the fierce shroud and storm what Heights of Love or depths of Peace when fears are still when striving seeds my comforter

My All In All here in the love of Christ I stand [Music] our hope is not found in the things of This World In Christ Alone who took on flesh fullness of God in heaven this gift of love and righteousness yes scorned by the ones he came to save till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied for every sin on him was laid here in the death of Christ I live [Music] they're in the ground his body lay Light of the World by Darkness slain then bursting forth in Glorious Days up from the grave he rose again and as he stands in victory since curse has lost its grip on me for I am his and he is mine but with a precious blood of Christ [Music] no guilt in life no fear in death this is the power of Christ in me from life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny no power of hand no scheme of man can ever block me from his hand till he returns or calls me home here in the power of Christ I'll Stand [Music] no power of hell no scheme of [Music] alone here is one big amen right one of my favorite songs there you know Pastor is talking about the word Shao which is in parity if you mean it's going to be done right and I was thinking of another verse where there are some shells in and maybe this applies to you it says listen Romans 10 13 for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved so the question is this morning have you called upon the name of the Lord if not

We would like to talk to you this morning Don't Be Afraid come up front after the service will be more than welcome to spend some time with you but it's an important shall in your life let's pray God the father would just come before you thanking you for who you are the great the mighty salvation that can bring Salvation to all who believe the Lord we just thank you for the grace and the mercy that you showed us and that we can only attain a Salvation through us as a people leave today protect them guide them and may this week be live for you when we pray this in Christ's name amen thank you