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[0:00] We are entering the 11th chapter of Daniel, and it struck me as I was preparing for this and going over it recently, if there's anything that is absolutely certain in this world is this.

[0:17] We live in a world of conflict. It has been that way from the very beginning, and it actually began even before me.

[0:30] Before man was created and placed in the garden, there was conflict between the creature and the creator. There was actually an attempt to rebel against the creator, and we see that in the person of Lucifer, who later was designated or is designated as the adversary, which the word Satan means, the adversary.

[0:54] And he has plied his nefarious wares in various places and times throughout the world ever since because he is an angelic being and he is not subject to physical death, so we needn't look to the end of him coming that way.

[1:10] So from the very earliest of times, from God created, conflict arose, and we saw how it became so extensive in the original creation that God deigned it wise to eliminate the entirety of human population with the exception of eight souls and start all over again.

[1:33] That's exactly what he did. And it is interesting to note that the motivation for his doing that was, we are told in Genesis 6 that God looked upon the earth, the inhabitants of men, and behold, the earth was filled with violence.

[1:52] And this violence has cropped up because angels and men in the very beginning were provided with a dynamic that is known as volition.

[2:06] I cannot emphasize this too much, fellas, because it more than anything else is responsible for the world being the way it is. We read early on in Genesis that God looked upon all that he had created and made, and behold, it was very good.

[2:23] But that changed. It can no longer be said to be very good, because evil had entered, and the volition that God gave to angels and man has worked its way into a wholesale kind of conflict that has engulfed the entire world ever since.

[2:43] Now, philosophers and theologians have argued over this for a long time as to why did God make individuals with that capability.

[2:54] And as we pointed out to you, and fellas, I know I'm emphasizing this, but it is so key. It is so germane. It is so essential to understanding why the world is the way it is that I keep mentioning it, and that is this.

[3:07] God was faced with the option of creating man with or without a volition, creating angels with or without a volition. And if he had done so by giving them no volition, no will, then they would have been locked in to automatistic kind of behavior.

[3:31] They would have been robotic-like. We would have been robotic-like. Everybody would have done exactly what they were supposed to do. Everybody would have obeyed God perfectly because they didn't have any choice. But he gave us a choice.

[3:44] And the question that is often asked is, if God is omniscient and is supposed to know everything, knowing the heartache and the misery and the death and disease that's going to come upon the human race, why in the world did God create humans as he did?

[3:58] And the only possible answer is, he chose to create us with volition because creatures who do not have a will or do not have a volition have no basis for, what shall I say, evaluation, because they just automatically do what is right all the time.

[4:19] So God created creatures and angels, humans and angels, with this thing called volition, knowing full well in advance the negatives that would come from that.

[4:33] And to counter that, he also built into the mix the dynamic that is called redemption. That is the way of correcting or buying back that which was lost through man's exercise of volition.

[4:48] And we are not going to turn to it, but just let me remind you that in Revelation chapter 4 and verse 11, we find what might be the only expression, at least the only one I'm aware of, in all of the Bible as to why there is something rather than nothing.

[5:07] And there we have the testimony of the four and twenty elders in Revelation 4.11, who confess that God is worthy to receive honor and glory and power, dominion, might, majesty, etc.

[5:20] Because thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, according to thy pleasure, they were and are created.

[5:31] And all we can say is that God created because he chose to create, and he chose to create angels and humans with a volition. Why he chose to do that, we do not know.

[5:44] We only know that God did not create anything out of necessity, because God is quite capable of satisfying all of his needs within his own person.

[5:57] So he does not need to go outside himself to create anything. He did so, however, simply because it pleased him to do so. And then in Revelation chapter 5, we read the same kind of adulation is directed toward the Almighty, because not only had he created, but because he has redeemed us out of every nation and culture and etc.

[6:27] So we've got creation in Revelation 4, and we've got redemption in Revelation 5. And in the meanwhile, from creation to the end of our redemption, which will be realized when we are gathered together around the table of the Lord.

[6:47] In the meanwhile, what we have is conflict, conflict, conflict. There isn't anything else that we can use to describe it.

[6:58] We saw that happening even before humans were created, and we see in Revelation chapter 6, where conflict and violence is upon the earth, and God decides to end the whole thing, start all over with these eight souls, and he does.

[7:13] And then the first example of conflict that we have after that, if you'll turn in your Bibles, please, to Genesis chapter 13. Genesis chapter 13. And actually, we're working toward Daniel 11, and we will get there shortly.

[7:28] Can you hold your question, Joe? We'll have a time later for you. In Genesis chapter 13. I'm sorry, chapter 14. Chapter 14.

[7:38] It came about in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Ariok, king of Elessar, Chetalamer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim, that they made war.

[7:51] What's that all about? Why is anybody doing that? I mean, good grief, this is way back at Abraham's time. This is 2,000 years before Christ is born, and now they're making war with Barak, king of Sodom, Bersha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemibur, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is Zor.

[8:11] All of these kings, by the way, are nothing more than what we would call the equivalent today of like mayors or governors. These kings had very small realms, usually limited to a couple of city-states, where there might be a few thousand people, but they were still the absolute authority, so they are given the title as kings.

[8:31] And we've got this tremendous conflict going on, and bear in mind, these people are all related. They're all related. Distant relatives, maybe.

[8:42] And by the way, we are all related, too. You understand that. All of humanity is related. The human race is one large family. And someone said, that is why we fight so much, because we're family.

[8:56] And we are. And it doesn't make any difference what your race is, what the color of your skin is, what language you speak. We are all of one blood. We are all related. And every time people go to war, they are fighting with their relatives.

[9:11] So we've got here in verse 3, all of these came as allies to the Valley of Sidim, that is the Salt Sea.

[9:21] This is down around the Dead Sea area. Twelve years they had served Chetalamer. The thirteenth year they rebelled. They served Chetalamer. That means they pay him tribute, and gave obeisance to him, and he called the shots, and they did what he said, and so on.

[9:36] This, by the way, this whole thing of conflict is all about one thing. Power and control. Because the one who is in power gets their agenda pursued.

[9:53] It doesn't make any difference if you're talking about politics in the USA, or the Soviet Union, or any place else. It's all about power. Always has been. Who is in control? Who's going to make the decisions?

[10:04] Who calls the shots? And who derives the benefits? This is the essence of it because man in his fallenness suffers from that debilitating primary disease that afflicts every single one of us, and it's called self-centeredness.

[10:31] We are all self-centered. That promotes the quest for power and control. It is designed to obtain, to get, to have, to use, and so on.

[10:44] This is part of the human condition. It is systemic to the human race. So we've got here, I'm not going to read all of this, but let's just come down, if we may, see this conflict that is going on in Valley of Siddam, and verse 11 of chapter 14.

[11:02] Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and departed, and they also took Lot, Abraham's nephew, and his possessions, and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

[11:18] This is after Lot had pinched his tent outside Sodom, then he's moved into Sodom. And then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew, Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.

[11:35] And when Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he let out his trained men, trained how? Trained militarily.

[11:50] These were men who obviously were trained in the fine arts of combat, of fighting. Why would anybody need to be trained that way?

[12:01] Because there are others who are trained that way. And when they come against you for your goods or services, or to subject you to their authority, they are prepared to use force if you do not acquiesce peaceably, then they will come with armed conflict.

[12:20] And that's what this thing is all about. When they heard, Abraham heard verse 14, that his relative had been taken, and he led out his trained men, born in his house, 318.

[12:32] This is a small army. And went in pursuit as far as Dan, and he divided his forces against them by night. This is military strategy, going all the way back to the book of Genesis.

[12:46] Divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus, and keep Damascus in mind, because Damascus is Syria.

[12:59] And as we pointed out in times past, Syria is the oldest, the city of Damascus in Syria is the oldest continually populated city in the entire world.

[13:10] It's even older than Jerusalem. In the 1980s, maybe 1990s, Jerusalem celebrated its 3,000th birthday.

[13:21] But Damascus is older than that. And this north of Damascus, Damascus, of course, is in Syria. And guys, Syria is a very big player in the end time.

[13:34] And it's interesting to note what's going on in Syria right now. And we cannot help but wonder if the present conflict in Syria is somehow going to be a prelude to what is coming later, because Syria will be a major player.

[13:49] And you recall that it goes way, way back. I mean, remember Naaman the leper in 2 Kings chapter 5 or 6? He was the commanding general of the army of Syria.

[14:02] And he came down to Israel, and you remember the story about Elisha and the healing, the miraculous healing and so on. Well, that's Syria. And they are neighbors to Israel, to the immediate north.

[14:17] And when you read about, and we'll see this in our text in Daniel 11, if we ever got there, when you read about those to the north and those to the south, it is always in reference to Israel.

[14:30] It means north of Israel. And that, in this case, is going to be Syria. When it talks about some, it's referring to Egypt, which of course is south.

[14:41] And they were major players then, and they will be in the end time. And we read that Lot brought back all his goods, and brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, also the women and the people.

[14:53] That is, he had rescued them. They were being held hostage. So we've got conflict that is just going on and won't quit. And fellas, this has inundated our globe from the earliest of times.

[15:06] As you go through the Middle Ages, you see conflict. One nation rising against another. You get into the Middle Ages, and it's the same thing. And you get into what we call the modern times.

[15:19] And we've got, we've got the Revolutionary War, and we've got the War of 1812. And when you come down to 1914, we have what was then referred to as the Great War.

[15:36] Why did they call it the Great War? Because there had never before been a war on that scope that involved all the nations that it did, pulled in from Europe, and even from North America, because we got into it in 1917.

[15:54] And that became known as the Great War, and it was also called, you remember? Well, you were back here, then neither was I. But historians tell us that it was called the War to End All Wars.

[16:10] And it was on that basis that many justified the entrance of the United States into that war, even though Woodrow Wilson for a long time tried to keep us out of it.

[16:21] Eventually, he's the one to put us in it. And it became the War to End All Wars, the Great War. And there were millions of casualties in it. But in actuality, that war never really ended.

[16:36] I mean, the Treaty of Versailles was signed and all of that good stuff, and they stopped shooting at each other. But there were undercurrents that were taking place that had not been resolved.

[16:48] And eventually, in the 1920s, with the Great Depression that hit Germany, and you move into the early 30s when Adolf Hitler came to power, the dregs of World War I were pulled out again, and we've got the beginning of World War II.

[17:08] And you'll remember World War I wasn't called World War I until World War II started. It was called the Great War. But then, historians changed the name and called it World War I.

[17:21] Now we're engaged in the 1940s in World War II. Today, they're talking about the possibilities of World War III. So, we don't know how that's all going to play out.

[17:34] All I'm trying to point out is that the name of the game for humanity, fallen as we are, is conflict, conflict, conflict. And you know where else you see this? You see this in marriages.

[17:49] You see it in our own culture. You see it in what's taking place today in Europe, in France, in England, with Islam. You see it right here in the United States with what's taking place in our decaying culture.

[18:03] When you turn on the news about all you get is conflict from here to there to, you know, and it is racial, and it is political, and it is economic, and it is just, we just cannot seem to get our act together.

[18:17] So, with that kind of backdrop, let's come, if we may, to our text for this morning, and it's in Daniel chapter 11, and it's a long chapter. I have no illusions of getting through it. Much of it, I think, just lends itself to an explanation, but here is a key to interpreting, I think, Daniel chapter 11, and this is very important to keep in mind because the events that are going to take place here in chapter 11 that Daniel is prophesying are all going to occur in the intertestamental period.

[18:55] That is, they will occur during the 400 years lapse of time that exists between the closing of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament.

[19:07] So, what we are going to find here in Daniel 11 is prophecy. It is a prediction of what is going to happen during this time, but the Bible is not going to record the actuality or the fulfillment of that.

[19:24] You can, however, get that in secular history at any encyclopedia, and it will tell you what happened between the birth of Christ or the end of, what shall we say, the end of the first century until you get into the fourth century.

[19:41] So, what we have here is a prophecy of that time between the Testaments, but we do not have Scripture giving us the fulfillment or the acting out of it. So, let's get into it.

[19:51] Chapter 11, verse 1, in the first year of Darius the Mede. Now, remember, the Medes and the Persians, they are the guys who defeat the Babylonians. Remember, the Babylonians took Israel into captivity, then the Medes and the Persians defeated the Babylonians, and in this text we're going to have the Greeks who are going to defeat the Medes and the Persians, and then it will be the Romans.

[20:15] So, that's going to be the order in which they occur. Verse 2, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encourager, this is Daniel speaking, I arose to be an encourager and a protection for him, and now I will tell you the truth.

[20:34] Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia, and by the way, this is the angel that is speaking here in the previous chapter. He's revealing this information to Daniel.

[20:47] Three more kings are going to arise in Persia, then, and Persia, by the way, is modern day Iran. Then, a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them.

[21:02] As soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece. And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

[21:19] But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.

[21:39] This mighty king who will arise in chapter, in verse 3, is Alexander the Great, and he will die at the ripe old age of 32, lamenting the fact that there are no more worlds to conquer, and Alexander the Great who will have militarily decimated the Medes and the Persians in a conflict that is just one that the military historians still talk about.

[22:07] And when Alexander the Great dies, his kingdom is parceled out to four of his generals, and each one of them is assigned a geographical area over which he rules.

[22:25] And we read that these are the four points of the compass in verse 4, not according to his authority which he wielded, his sovereignty will be uprooted, given to others besides them.

[22:37] Then the king of the south, this is Egypt, and whoever the king is that is ruling there at the time, he will grow strong along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion.

[22:54] His domain will be a great dominion indeed. And after some years, they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south, that is Cleopatra.

[23:10] And most historians recognize that. The daughter, Cleopatra, of the king of the south, will come to the king of the north to carry out, and this king of the north is the leader of Syria.

[23:22] If you look at your map, you will see Syria to the north, Egypt to the south, and who is smack dab in the middle? Israel. To carry out a peaceful arrangement.

[23:35] This is a treaty that they're going to sign. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up along with those who brought her in, and the one who sired her, as well as he who supported her in these times.

[23:53] Now, when and where in the Bible is this ever fulfilled? Well, it isn't. It is predicted, but it is not fulfilled. It is fulfilled in secular history accounts.

[24:04] You can read any encyclopedia or history book. You can get the information, but it is not included in the scriptures simply for the reason that God didn't want it included. One of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, that's Syria, and he will deal with them and display great strength.

[24:28] And also, their gods, that's a little g, of course, these are multiple gods, false deities, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he, on his part, will refrain from attacking the king of the north for some years.

[24:49] That is, the treaty is holding between them. Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the south, Egypt, but will return to his own land, and his sons will immobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces.

[25:06] One of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.

[25:17] And the king of the south, Egypt, will be enraged, offended, incensed, and go forth and fight with the king of the north.

[25:28] Then the latter will raise a great multitude, for that multitude will be given into the hand of the former. And when the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall, yet he will not prevail.

[25:47] For the king of the north, Syria, will again raise a greater multitude than the former. This is military buildup. And after an interval of some years, he will press on with great army and much equipment.

[26:04] Now in those times, many will rise up against the king of the south. This will be a confederacy facing the king of the south. The violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.

[26:21] Then the king of the north, this is all prophecy when Daniel's relating this. And many of the secular historians look back on the book of Daniel and they say, he's not writing prophecy.

[26:36] He's writing history. This has already happened. But the truth of the matter is, the book of Daniel has been verified as having been written well before these incidents occurred.

[26:49] This is prophecy. And the reason they were taken aback by it was, it was too precise and too detailed. There's no way he could have known that. Well, of course there isn't any way that Daniel could have known it.

[27:01] But there isn't any way that God could not have known it. And he is revealing it to him. So we read then in verse 15, the king of the north will come up, cast a siege mound, capture a well-fortified city, and the forces of the south will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.

[27:23] But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him. He will also stay for a time in the beautiful land. Guess where that is?

[27:34] That's Israel. Israel sandwiched right between Syria and Egypt. And the closest way from either of those to the other is right through the beautiful land, right through the land of Israel, with destruction in his hands.

[27:53] And he will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect. He will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it, but she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.

[28:11] Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him. Moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.

[28:23] So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more. Now, verse 20 is where the plot thickens.

[28:37] Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the jewel of his kingdom. Yet, within a few days he will be shattered, though neither in anger nor in battle.

[28:54] And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred.

[29:06] But he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. That means not by a military intervention or overthrowing with military might, but with political chicanery and underhanded tactics he will seize the kingdom by intrigue.

[29:28] And the overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered and also the prince of the covenant. And after an alliance is made with him he will practice deception and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.

[29:48] In the time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm. He will accomplish what his fathers never did nor his ancestors. He will distribute plunder, booty, and possessions among them and he will devise his schemes against strongholds but only for a time.

[30:08] And he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south, Egypt, with a large army. strength. So the king of the south will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war but he will not stand.

[30:22] For schemes will be devised against him and those who eat his choice food will destroy him. This is from the inside they are going to do away with him.

[30:36] And his army will overflow but many will fall down slain. As for both kings their hearts will be intent on evil and they will speak lies to each other at the same table.

[30:49] This is when they meet and have a conference for peace talks and they are going to sit there at the table and lie to each other across the table. Does that sound familiar to anybody?

[31:02] Yeah. Yeah. But it will not succeed for the end is still appointed to come at the appointed time. Then he will return to his land with much plunder but his heart will be set against the holy covenant and he will take action and then return to his own land.

[31:22] At the appointed time he will return and come into the south but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. For ships of Kattim will come against him therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant.

[31:40] Now this this is Antiochus Epiphanes who is a type of the Antichrist who is to come. Antiochus Epiphanes was was one who was was committed to the principles the philosophy and the ideas of Hellenism.

[31:59] That's Greek thought and Greek living and by the way that's simply the way the word appears in the Greek is Hellen has nothing to do with hell or Hellenism is just another word for the Grecian influence the culture and the thought and the philosophy that prevailed at the day and Antiochus Epiphanes was trying to was trying to establish this throughout the world much the same way that Alexander the Great was as a Greek before and and of course we know what happened to him but Antiochus Epiphanes was so enraged at the opposition that he received from trying to establish Hellenistic or Grecian thought and influence and religion and culture he was so incensed at a particular group of people who would not knuckle under who do you suppose that was?

[32:49] Yeah you're right it was the Jew it was Israel and they simply insisted on sacrificing to their God and continuing the temple ritual and all the rest of it in a way that was just opposing to him and we are told that that he will come he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the Holy Covenant and that of course is Israel and forces from him will arise desecrate the sanctuary fortress this is when they will when they will sacrifice pigs on the Jewish altar and there was probably no greater way that you could insult the Jewish people other than by sacrificing an unclean animal like a sow on the altar that was reserved for clean sacrifices to be offered to God and this was his way of poking a stick in their eye of insulting Judaism and the reason he was doing this of course is he was trying to break their will and make them succumb to the

[34:02] Hellenistic thought and ideas which they of course were reluctant to do and we read that he will set up the abomination of desolation and that's exactly what the Antichrist is going to do as reflected in Matthew 24 when Jesus talked about the abomination of desolation when he desecrates the holy place and that of course will be the Antichrist this is Antiochus Epiphanes he is a type of the Antichrist and we read that the people who know their God will display strength and take action and who will this be this will be Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabeus is going to have I think five or six sons who are going to mount a massive rebellion against this authority from Greece and try to overthrow them they of course will not succeed but it will be known as the war of the Maccabees and you do not find that in the Bible either but it is in the Apocrypha in those books between the Old and New Testament and Maccabees first and second

[35:11] Maccabees records the exploits of Judas Maccabeus and his sons and their gallant efforts against the Greeks who were inhabiting at the time yet they will fall by the sword these are the people of God who know their God will display strength and action and that will be the Maccabees and those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the enemy yet they will fall by sword and by flame by captivity and by plunder for many days now when they fall they will be granted a little help and many will join with them in hypocrisy 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 times then the king will do as he pleases this is Antiochus Epiphanes 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 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 that's an interesting expression we'll look at next time fathers or for the desire of women nor will he show regard for any other god for he will magnify himself above them all and there we must conclude this section but this is as I said this is the type of the

[36:51] Antichrist and when he stands in the most holy place he will announce that he himself is god and he will demand that the Jews worship him and of course that will be in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel three and a half years into it the covenant will have been in force the seven year covenant will have been signed but only three and a half years will have transpired and in the middle of it he violates the covenant breaks his rules and so on so Joe you had a comment way back when wasn't there a flood that actually occurred on the earth before Noah's flood in other words you talk about the conflict back when he created the angels and stuff before he created man because when man comes into the story he talks about separating the waters some went up and some stayed down in the verses there's verses that he separated the water like at one time we were all the earth was flooded completely flooded and then

[37:57]  God before he created man actually he separated these waters so the land showed and then there was water up here in the heavens vapor mass and then when Noah's flood occurred that's where all this water came from that flooded the earth during the scriptural time in Genesis there was indication that there was life or a creation before man was created on the earth I would think so yes absolutely I appreciate that