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[0:00] We are in our examination of Daniel chapter 11, and by the way, just let me insert something here if I may at the outset, because we are nearing the end of this book, probably a couple of more sessions, and we will complete it.

[0:15] I have not yet made up my mind where we'll go after Daniel, so if you have an itch that needs to be scratched, or something that you would like to pursue, a study that you would like to see undertaken, or something, feel free to offer any suggestions that you may have, and we'll be glad to give it every consideration.

[0:38] I've got all kinds of possibilities that I could go to, but I don't want to saddle you with some of my favorite issues. I want to, like I said, I want to scratch where people itch.

[0:50] So if there are issues that are of concern to you, or books or something like that in the Bible that you'd like to study, make that known to me, and we'll give it every consideration, because we are here, and we gather together, and we expound the Word for your blessing and for your benefit.

[1:09] So, in Daniel chapter 11, as we are coming near the end of the book, I want to point out to you the importance of the gap.

[1:20] We've talked a little bit about this regarding some issues in the past, but we find these gaps very prominent, particularly in the area of prophecy, and here we have another gap, and even though we have covered most of chapter 11, I do want to emphasize something here because of the importance of it, and also, I remember telling you last week how impressed I am with the scholarship of Dr. Rennie Showers, recently retired from Friends of Israel, but he's authored a number of books, and prophecy is one of his specialties, and I alluded to that, but I gave you very little of his content, so this morning I'm going to just share a few of the paragraphs that he has expressed regarding Daniel chapter 11.

[2:07] And the first thing that I want you to note is that at the end of verse 35, in the beginning of verse 36, there is what is referred to as a prophetic gap, G-A-P, prophetic gap, and that simply indicates that there is a tremendous amount of time involved between those verses and the events that are going to transpire.

[2:42] Verse 35 reads, And some of those who have insight will fall in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the end time, because it is still to come at the appointed time.

[2:58] Gap. Then, verse 36 takes up on the other end, or the other side of that gap, with, Then the king will do as he pleases.

[3:11] And this king is different from the king that precedes. The king that precedes is Antiochus Epiphanes, who is referred to as a type of the Antichrist.

[3:25] But, the king who surfaces in verse 36 is the Antichrist. And he has yet to surface.

[3:35] Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus Epiphanes, long since gone. He's off the scene. Hundreds, thousands of years ago. But now, this one who is going to be the fulfillment of the Antitype, is going to surface, and he will be none other than the Antichrist.

[3:58] He will be the major player, the major player during the 70th week of Daniel.

[4:09] And his end will come when Christ returns. And that's referred to in Matthew chapter 24 and chapter 25. So, I just want to give you Dr. Schauer's take on this, beginning with verse 36.

[4:29] And the importance of this content is just, I cannot overestimate it. The text says, Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the god of gods, and he will prosper until the indignation is finished.

[4:52] For that which is decreed will be done. And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god, for he will magnify himself above them all.

[5:12] But instead, he will honor the god of fortresses. This is another way of saying he's going to be very militaristic minded.

[5:24] And we can understand how something like that can be realized in the latter day. The concept will be the enormous conflict that will be taking place during that time.

[5:36] He will magnify himself above them all, and honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers, that is, those who preceded him, did not know. He will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones, and treasures, and he will take action against the strongest of fortresses.

[5:54] With the help of a foreign god, he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him. That is, he will have ways of paying and compensating those who are loyal to him.

[6:05] Nothing new about that. And he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price. Now, I don't want to... This is not in the text, and we've seen it in our study of prophecy in the past, but the globe is going to be divided into ten geographical segments.

[6:24] Planet Earth is in the end time. And each of those ten segments will have its own potentate over it, and they are referred to as the Ten Kings.

[6:36] So that's going to come into play in this as well. So let me just get right into what Dr. Showers says about this. Many scholars, says he, both ancient and modern, Jewish and Christian, have been convinced that there is a great gap of time between the end of verse 35 and the beginning of verse 36 in Daniel 11.

[7:01] According to this view, the prophecies of verses 2 through 35 were fulfilled by the end of the days of Antiochus Epiphanes.

[7:13] And that was 164 B.C. 164 years before Christ was born. But the prophecies beginning with verse 36 will be fulfilled by the Antichrist during the last several years leading up to the second coming of Christ.

[7:33] Now, when he says many scholars, he is, of course, including himself about the gap, and that's a position that I take too. But not everybody interprets the Bible as we do.

[7:46] We take a premillennial, pre-tribulation view regarding prophecy, and others do not. So they would come up with a different interpretation. But in our estimation, what we have shown you and what we are revealing regarding the gap seems to me to be the most consistent logical interpretation involved.

[8:05] So let's continue on. He says, regarding this gap, there are several good reasons for believing that this view is correct. First, although verses 2 through 35 have been fulfilled clearly and precisely by past historic events, there is nothing from the past that corresponds exactly with the prophecies beginning with verse 36.

[8:32] Second, other prophetic passages which describe the Antichrist correspond exactly with the description of the king beginning with verse 36.

[8:44] And third, according to Daniel 12.1, during the time of the king described in Daniel 11, 36-45, there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time.

[9:03] Several centuries after Christ gave this revelation to Daniel, he indicated that this unique time of distress would transpire during the time period immediately before his second coming.

[9:19] And that's found in Matthew 24, verses 21 and 22, and verses 29 through 31. Jesus thereby placed the fulfillment of Daniel 11, verses 36 through chapter 12 and verse 3, into the future when Antichrist will rule.

[9:40] As Christ described the Antichrist, he gave insight into the character of that coming ruler. The Antichrist will do as he pleases.

[9:51] In other words, he will not be opposed. He will have his will worked out. He will be an absolute dictator who will demand that he have his own way.

[10:02] He will tolerate no restraints upon himself. He will recognize no law or authority higher than himself. The Apostle Paul indicated the same character trait of the Antichrist by calling him the man of lawlessness.

[10:19] 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 3. As noted earlier, concerning the little horn in 725 of Daniel, he will intend to alter law.

[10:31] He will reject all forms of established law so that he can be the law of his kingdom. Antichrist will be a blasphemer of the true God, speaking monstrous things against him to the point of astonishing people.

[10:49] The same was said of him as the little horn of Daniel 725 and as the first beast of Revelation 13, 5 and 6. In other words, what we are saying is that the references to the individuals in Daniel 725 and Revelation 13, 5 and 6 are the same.

[11:10] They're all speaking of the same person. This is the Antichrist. Once he comes to power, he will be able to prosper until the indignation is finished.

[11:21] That is, until God's chastening program for Israel will be completed at the second coming of Christ. As noted earlier in Daniel 8, 19.

[11:32] He will be able to prosper until then because God in his sovereignty has decreed that Israel's chastening will last until then.

[11:44] In verse 36. And this chastening of Israel is simply Israel being under divine discipline wherein blindness in part has happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

[11:57] In Romans chapter 11. Not only will Antichrist be opposed to the true God, but also he will show total disregard for the gods that his ancestors worshipped.

[12:11] Some have translated gods in the singular as God with a capital G. Since the expression, the God of his fathers, is Jewish, they have taken this to mean that Antichrist will be a Jew.

[12:26] It is possible that Antichrist will be a Jew, but that cannot be concluded with certainty on the basis of this one statement. I personally am persuaded that the Antichrist will not be a Jew, and I think most scholars are of that opinion.

[12:42] He will not be a Jew, but he will succeed in hoodwinking the Jews. That's for sure. Martin, with that statement there, how can you say that with that statement like that?

[12:53] God of his fathers. God of his fathers. I mean, he's not going to follow the God of his fathers. Well, that can simply mean ancestors, though.

[13:04] It doesn't require that he be Jewish. Not at all. In other words, it had to be another God other than the God of the Israelites, though, then, wouldn't it?

[13:14] It had to be some kind of a God other than the God of the Israelites if we're not talking about a Jew. Yeah, well, you've got to remember that Judaism and monotheism was not the order of the day.

[13:26] The order of the day was polytheism. Many gods. Multiple worshipping of deities. Roger? It would be following the God of this world to trance in the power of the air.

[13:36] Well, that's involved as well. Let me continue on. I'm sorry. The word gods could be translated plural as well as singular, but even if one takes it as singular, the statement, he will show no regard for the God of his fathers, could apply to any person whose ancestors were religious.

[13:57] The Antichrist will show no regard for the desire of women. Some have taken this to mean that he will not experience the normal physical desires which a man experiences toward a woman.

[14:10] Now, that has led some to believe that the Antichrist is going to be homosexual. But that, too, is a stretch. Now, given what's going on in our culture today, that's not much of a stretch.

[14:21] No, no. But at the same time, we've got to keep this in context. And the desire of women, I think, really needs to be understood in accordance with the Jewish setting.

[14:33] And if you know anything about Jewish women, about womanhood among Jews, the sine qua non, the ultimate, the very utmost that could happen to a Jewish woman would be to be the vehicle through which the Messiah would arrive.

[15:01] And we know Mary, the Nazarene peasant girl from Nazareth, was the one whom God chose for that particular honor.

[15:16] But this would be the absolute ultimate for any Jewish woman would be to be the mother of the Messiah. and I think that's probably what is involved here.

[15:29] But again, we cannot be dogmatic about it. Antichrist will have no regard, it seems best, to assume that the desire of women also refers to an object of worship.

[15:44] In Old Testament times, it was a desire of the woman of Israel to be the mother of the Messiah. In light of this, it would appear that Daniel was being told that Antichrist will have no regard for the Messiah.

[15:57] Not only will he refuse to worship Messiah, but also he will be totally opposed to Him. This is why the scriptures call him Antichrist or Anti-Messiah, and he is referred to in 1 John 2, verses 18 and 22.

[16:15] Not only will Antichrist reject the true God, the gods of his fathers, and the Messiah, but also he will not show regard for any God.

[16:26] The Apostle Paul said that he would oppose every so-called God or object of worship. This is 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 4. Thus, Antichrist will be an atheist, a rejecter of every form of established worship.

[16:47] Antichrist will have a specific reason for his total atheism. According to verses 36 and 37, he will exalt and magnify himself above every god.

[17:01] He will oppose every form of established worship in order to clear the way for the worship of himself. As noted earlier, the angel who described Antichrist as the little horn declared that he would claim deity for himself and would try to speak with the same authority with which God speaks.

[17:24] 725. Paul wrote that Antichrist would exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

[17:42] 2 Thessalonians 2.4. John indicated that this man would be worshipped by many people. Indicated in Revelation 13.4 and verse 8, 12, and 15 of chapter 13.

[17:57] Jesus taught that Antichrist would erect an image of himself in the future temple of Jerusalem, the place where God is supposed to dwell.

[18:09] Matthew 24.15. In other words, Antichrist will be the ultimate man, the man who supposedly achieves deity.

[18:21] Although Antichrist himself will refuse to worship a personal being as God, he will honor an impersonal God, that to which a man devotes himself, his abilities, his efforts, his time, and his resources is the God of that man.

[18:37] In place of a personal God, Antichrist will make war his God. He will be devoted to the conquest of the world. Although the ancient Romans carried on extensive wars, they never deified war.

[18:53] They worshipped personal gods which they themselves invented. Unlike his predecessors, this future Roman ruler will deify war.

[19:04] Antichrist will honor his God by pouring huge sums of wealth into the building of his military machine and the waging of war, indicated in verse 38 of chapter 11.

[19:21] His devotion to war will motivate him to attack the strongest military installations. As he conquers new areas of the world for his Roman kingdom, he will reward his most avid followers in two ways.

[19:38] To some, he will give positions of rulership over large groups of people. To others, he will give gifts of choice land. In order to obtain these rewards, people will have to pay a price.

[19:52] The selling of their souls in total devotion to this man who will claim to be God. So, this continues then in chapters 40 verses, chapter 11 verses 40 through 45 and we've got new material here.

[20:11] Actually, it's related to the same situation but read on. And at the end time, the king of the south, and we've already identified that as being Egypt.

[20:22] And by the way, when these directions are given, north, south, east, west, it is always using Jerusalem as the reference point. It is north of Jerusalem or south of Jerusalem or east or west.

[20:36] And the Bible is very consistent with that because God regards the geographical area of Israel to be the navel of the earth.

[20:48] It is the belly button of the planet. It is right there in the center and it separates, divides three great continents. Europe, Africa, and Asia.

[20:59] Very strategic. At the end time, the king of the south, that will be whoever the ruler is or the prime minister or whatever you want to call him of Egypt, will collide with him and the king of the north and that will be Syria.

[21:17] And by the way, you see what's going on in Syria today. The whole nation is in conflict and has been for a long time. This is a very, very old nation. They have been hot and cold with Israel for millennia.

[21:32] They have fought back and forth and they've had peace treaties and they've had war between them and it's just gone on down through the ages. That is, the king of the north will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, with many ships and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.

[21:50] He will also enter the beautiful land. That's Israel. And many countries will fall, but these will be rescued out of his hand.

[22:02] That is, these will be spared from the decimation of the Antichrist. And they are Edom and Moab, the foremost of the sons of Ammon.

[22:14] This is modern day Jordan. And it is that area in the south that includes the territory of Edom.

[22:25] These are the descendants of Esau. And there is where Petra is located, which is where we believe the remnant of Jews are going to be holed up during this time of great tribulation.

[22:39] And that's why they're going to be spared. These geographical areas are going to be spared. Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.

[22:51] But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt, and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. But rumors from the east, who might that be?

[23:06] Very likely Iran. Very likely Iraq. They are both to the east. Rumors from the east and from the north, and that again could be Syria, probably will be, will disturb him.

[23:20] And he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain.

[23:31] Yet, he will come to his end and no one will help him. Dr. Showers goes on to say, the revelation given by Christ to Daniel in verse 40 contains some problems of interpretation.

[23:45] First, who is the person referred to by him and he? Inasmuch as the Antichrist, the future ruler of the revived Roman Empire, was the major subject of the immediately preceding context, verses 36 through 39, it seems rather obvious that the him and he of verse 40 refer to the Antichrist.

[24:10] Second, who are the king of the south and the king of the north? As noted earlier, these two kings were mentioned several times in Daniel 11, verses 2 through 35.

[24:23] Since those verses have been fulfilled already, it is a known fact that historically, the king of the south was always Egypt and the king of the north was always Syria.

[24:35] And by the way, those are history. Those have already transpired. What he is talking about now is prophecy. It has not transpired. Inasmuch as Christ did not tell Daniel that the king of the south and the king of the north of verse 40 are different from those of verses 2 through 35, it would appear that Christ intended them to be understood as being the same.

[25:02] This would mean then that in verse 40, the king of the south is still Egypt, the king of the north is still Syria. In light of these interpretations, it can be concluded that Christ revealed the following in Daniel 11 40, sometime in the end time, and the word translated at also means in.

[25:24] Egypt and Syria will attack the Antichrist militarily. When in the end time, they will conduct, when in the end time, will they conduct this joint attack?

[25:36] Evidence will be seen later for concluding that this attack will take place during the first half of the 70th 7 of Daniel 9, during the first half of the last seven years before Christ's second coming.

[25:50] How will Egypt and Syria in the Middle East be able to attack Antichrist, who will be in the west with his headquarters in Rome? The proposed answer is as follows.

[26:04] In Daniel 9 27, it was noted that Antichrist will make a strong covenant with Israel at the beginning of the 70th 7 of years.

[26:16] That covenant will bind Israel so strongly to Antichrist that that nation will practically be an extension of this Roman ruler in the Middle East.

[26:29] In other words, it is saying that Israel politically and nationally is going to be in bed with the Antichrist. They're going to be on common terms.

[26:40] You have to hold your I got to say this, Mark. You got to let me say this. That's another reason why I think he's going to be a Jew because who would the Israelites sign a treaty with other than one of their own?

[26:51] I mean, they would sign it with one of their own. I hear you, and that's a position that I took formerly, but I disregard it now. I no longer, you've got to tell me why you've got the other position so strong there because it seems it's got to be a Jew.

[27:04] I have not planned to insert this here, but you've got to come back next week. But yeah, come back next week. I tell you, I've given serious, very serious consideration.

[27:16] I would not be, I'm not saying this dogmatically. Of course, I don't know. I'm not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. But my gut, which can't be counted on always, my gut tells me that this man is going to have an Islamic background.

[27:32] He's going to be a Muslim, or that will be his background. Now that's somewhat contradictory because we know how fierce Muslims are when it comes to the existence of God. But this man is going to abandon his Islam and insist that he is God, which of course is unthinkable to Muslims and Christians and Jews.

[27:52] But that's exactly what's going to happen. Antichrist will regard any attack upon Israel as an attack upon himself. Through that covenant, he will commit himself and his Western Roman army to the military protection of Israel.

[28:07] In light of that binding covenant, it is proposed that the way in which Egypt and Syria will storm against the Antichrist will be through their attacking his Middle Eastern ally, Israel, in a joint invasion from the South and the North.

[28:27] When Antichrist learns that Israel has been attacked by Egypt and Syria, now remember, Israel is the one to whom the Antichrist has guaranteed protection.

[28:39] The seven-year contract. Antichrist is the Antichrist. Keep that in mind. When Antichrist learns that Israel has been attacked by Egypt and Syria, he will appear to keep his covenant.

[28:55] He will rush his Western army to the Middle East and will invade, overrun, and pass through different nations there, indicated in verse 40. Antichrist's initial military movement in the Middle East will be from the north to the south.

[29:18] Apparently, he will conquer Syria, that is, the first in the north of Israel. Then he will march south through Israel, or the beautiful land, as noted earlier in 8, 9, and 11, 16.

[29:31] Many people of different countries will become subject to him, but the people of Edom and Moab, that is, modern-day Jordan, and some of Ammon will escape his conquest.

[29:46] It appears that Antichrist will be so anxious to conquer Egypt that as he moves south, he will bypass, at least temporarily, these people who will be directly east of Israel across the Jordan, verse 41.

[30:01] Antichrist will get his Roman army to Egypt. There he will enjoy further military success. He will rob Egypt of his wealth, and will conquer to the eastern border of Libya and the northern border of Ethiopia.

[30:16] Apparently, Antichrist will not conquer Libya and Ethiopia, because when he will turn himself around to head north, those two nations will be at his heels.

[30:26] miracles. While Antichrist will be enjoying success in Egypt, he will receive disturbing news from the east and the north. These are tidings out of the east and the north.

[30:38] Since Christ did not reveal the content of that news, the most one can do is conjecture concerning that content. The predicted reaction of Antichrist to the news seems to indicate that it will inform him of new military action against him.

[30:55] military action from the east and the north. These are the tidings that will trouble him. It is proposed that the disturbing news will be that of the invasion of the Middle East foretold in Daniel 38 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 has begun to take place.

[31:14] In that passage, Ezekiel reveals that Russia, the land of Magog, will lead a massive military invasion against Israel. Russia and some of its allies will come from the north, Ezekiel 38, 6 and 39, 2.

[31:31] One of Russia's allies, Iran. And by the way, isn't it interesting how cozy Russia and Iran are today? Which is, by the way, ancient Persia.

[31:43] When the Bible uses the word Persia, it always refers to modern day Iran. Persia will send troops from the east.

[31:53] And by the way, when the Persians, when Iran and Iraq engaged in their war, when was it, in the 1970s, 1980s, something like that, the Sunnis and the Shiites were at war one with another.

[32:08] And they're both Muslim. But they're different brands of Islam. And between them, they lost a million men. That's formulating quite an army.

[32:21] The invasion is to take place after a restoration of Israel to its homeland when Israel will feel secure. There will be one period of time between Israel's restoration to the homeland in 1948 and the second coming of Christ when Israel will feel secure.

[32:37] So that's the essence of chapter 11. There's more that could be said, but this is very dramatic stuff and it is on the docket. Roger.

[32:48] Do you suppose the Antichrist will be the leader of the one world religion? Yes. We haven't talked about that, so that could be a mixture of all of them kind of.

[33:01] Well, the Antichrist himself will prove to be an atheist and he will establish himself as God and will demand the worship of everyone.

[33:13] And of course, that's going to succeed. In large measure, he's going to succeed because he is going to be able through, this is the second person, or the third person of the unholy alliance, he is going to be able through the ministry of the false prophet to create, provide miracles of his own.

[33:42] And they will be very impressive and people will line up behind him and people will line up behind him to receive the mark of the beast. And that's all part of the picture and he will be, of course, at the head of that.

[33:56] Yes. Because we're back in the time of miracles then because of the kingdom, kingdom time. Yes, absolutely. So we've seen all kinds of miracles like there was before the church. Exactly.

[34:07] Before the church. Exactly. In fact, the seven-year period is going to be replete with physical, material, obvious miracles one after another.

[34:20] As you read through the Revelation, you see all of these things coming back into vogue. And the supernatural is going to be the order of the day during the great tribulation period because it is not mystery related.

[34:33] This is not the church age. Church age is over and done with. But the rapture of the church, this is that 70th week of Daniel that is missing from the prophecy in chapter 9 where we have 69 weeks accounted for but we've got one lone week and that's this week.

[34:50] It's seven years broken up into two, three and a half year segments. So, then I trust that we can consider chapter 11 concluded and we'll begin with chapter 12 and be giving some serious thought of what we'll be undertaking when we finish the book of Daniel because I value your input and your suggestions that for certain things that you want to consider, why we'll give it a lot of thought.

[35:18] Thank you guys. Enjoy your meal. Thank you.