WEBVTT 00:00:04.969 --> 00:00:07.389 And now before we come to the Word of God, I'd 00:00:07.389 --> 00:00:12.570 like for us to bow in prayer on this very special 00:00:12.570 --> 00:00:16.010 day in our culture, a day when we honor motherhood. 00:00:16.489 --> 00:00:21.269 Would you join me please as we pray? Father, 00:00:21.269 --> 00:00:24.969 I thank you this morning for the gift of Mother. 00:00:26.910 --> 00:00:30.949 For each one of us looks to that one, that very 00:00:30.949 --> 00:00:33.310 special one in your plan that brought us into 00:00:33.310 --> 00:00:39.079 the world. We thank you for the nurture, the 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:45.159 love, the gentleness example that Godly mothers 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:51.539 have set before us. And Father, I thank you for 00:00:51.539 --> 00:00:54.740 those mothers here within our church who are 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:58.700 seeking to set that example now in a very difficult 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:02.840 time in the world when pressures are upon them 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:08.450 and upon their families. to the extreme. Grant 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:12.450 to them that special grace from the Spirit of 00:01:12.450 --> 00:01:17.769 God to be able to fulfill and find satisfaction 00:01:17.769 --> 00:01:25.810 in that highest of roles that you planned. And 00:01:25.810 --> 00:01:29.590 Father, we are mindful too that there are those 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:33.049 in our church that desire to have children but 00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:38.939 have not been able to. And together as their 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:41.760 brothers and sisters in Christ we lift them up 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:45.439 and pray that in your goodness and providence 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:48.280 If it be your will that you would grant to them 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:55.120 the desire of their hearts And father we pray 00:01:55.120 --> 00:02:02.299 for those mothers who have lost children You 00:02:02.299 --> 00:02:07.489 would give on this day of undoubtedly many memories, 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:16.530 a special comfort. And may they sense your arms 00:02:16.530 --> 00:02:21.210 around them, your tender love and understanding. 00:02:23.569 --> 00:02:26.370 And may that help fill the void that remains 00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:33.530 in their lives. God, you have revealed yourself 00:02:33.530 --> 00:02:39.900 to us as Father. And yet you have many wonderful 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:49.139 mothering qualities among your attributes. We 00:02:49.139 --> 00:02:51.460 are glad for the gentleness and love that you 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:56.340 show to us. We are glad for the way that you 00:02:56.340 --> 00:03:01.560 discipline us faithfully. Teach us not to resist 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:06.120 that, but to cooperate. and to understand then 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.099 that it brings righteousness and peace to our 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:15.479 lives. Now as we come to your word, we pray that 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:19.020 the Holy Spirit would be our teacher. Guide us 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:25.419 through this complex chapter. Open our understanding 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:28.139 to it, but then apply it to our lives in ways 00:03:28.139 --> 00:03:31.319 that will send us away from here encouraged that 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:37.319 we serve a sovereign God. In Jesus' name we pray, 00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:45.259 Amen. If you enjoy a biblical prophecy, this 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:48.599 chapter, the 11th chapter of Daniel, is one that 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:53.280 will thrill you. The angel which had been sent 00:03:53.280 --> 00:04:00.759 from God gave to Daniel information which covers 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:06.129 a span of nearly 400 years. and then beyond that. 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:10.270 Now just imagine that. Having understanding of 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:14.990 what was going to happen over hundreds of years 00:04:14.990 --> 00:04:19.550 to come in the future. Most of us today can't 00:04:19.550 --> 00:04:23.230 tell what's going to happen tomorrow. I can tell 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:25.709 what's going to happen for the next seven years, 00:04:26.569 --> 00:04:31.029 and I'll explain why. This last week I was working 00:04:31.029 --> 00:04:36.379 on a project in our home. My wife had wonderfully 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:41.379 papered the hallway in the upstairs of our house. 00:04:41.860 --> 00:04:45.540 It looked so nice and clean and fresh. All of 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:47.899 the smudge marks from children's hands had been 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:51.560 removed and covered over with this lovely paper. 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:55.660 And it was my assignment after she had done all 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:59.540 of the work to put up the mirror that I'd taken 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:08.980 down from the wall. Do I have to say more? I 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:10.939 put the two little brackets on the bottom of 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:13.620 this mirror that was just four feet tall and 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:18.480 about 18 or 12 inches wide. And the other two 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.379 brackets were in the bathroom down the hallway. 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:25.220 And so I backed away from the mirror and it clung 00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:30.040 tightly to the wall. So I walked into the bathroom 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.449 and heard crash. I went out into the hallway 00:05:33.449 --> 00:05:36.250 and saw not only the mirror broken, but the wallpaper 00:05:36.250 --> 00:05:40.089 torn and scarred from the sharp glass of the 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:42.990 mirror. So I know what's going to happen over 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:47.029 the next seven years. But most of us today don't 00:05:47.029 --> 00:05:49.829 know what's going to happen tomorrow. But Daniel 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:52.850 is here given information for centuries to come, 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:57.350 and in some respects it was much worse than a 00:05:57.350 --> 00:06:02.740 broken mirror. So specific and sweeping is this 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:06.040 revelation that God gives that those denying 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.540 a supernatural God must somehow deal with this. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.600 This is one of those passages that absolutely 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:17.980 shreds their idea that God is not intervening 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:21.040 in human affairs and that God, if there is a 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.620 God, is simply not interested in the world and 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:27.589 in human history. This chapter proves exactly 00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:31.529 the opposite of that, and so their only recourse 00:06:31.529 --> 00:06:34.649 is to tear the book of Daniel apart and repaste 00:06:34.649 --> 00:06:36.750 it back together in such a way that they say 00:06:36.750 --> 00:06:39.389 this part of Daniel had to be written after these 00:06:39.389 --> 00:06:44.149 events. So that instead of it being prophetic, 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:49.410 someone falsely is claiming to be Daniel and 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:51.910 writing about it, lying about it actually, saying 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:54.990 it's going to come to pass when it already happens. 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.360 And so their only recourse is to say that the 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.920 book of Daniel is a fraud, but it's their theology 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:07.339 that's a fraud. Indeed, this passage of Scripture 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:10.180 is prophetic and covered hundreds of years to 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.560 come from the lifetime of Daniel. Now for us 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:19.079 today, most of it is history. Chapter 11, verse 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:23.920 2 up through verse 35 is prophecy dealing with 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.779 events that now have occurred long ago. The last 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:32.899 part of the chapter, verses 36 -45, deal with 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:35.420 events that are yet to come from our own day. 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:39.360 Now today we're going to look at the first part 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:41.939 of the chapter and see what God revealed to Daniel. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:47.399 Things to come which did. Things to come from 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:49.860 the day in which Daniel lived and which did come 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:53.639 to pass. Now we don't have time to read the text. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.060 I've encouraged you before to read it in advance. 00:07:56.379 --> 00:07:59.379 I have to hope you've done that or that you will 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:01.620 do it later. But we're going to need to skim 00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:03.819 through the text and deal with it very quickly 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:07.399 because it is broad and sweeping and complex 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:09.959 really in its details. And we don't have time 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.000 to deal with all of those complexities. The verse 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:15.600 2 tells us of the future of Persia. Remember 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.779 that's the nation in which Daniel is now living. 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:22.910 Babylon has fallen. He is a leader in Persia. 00:08:23.329 --> 00:08:27.009 And what verse 2 tells us is that following Cyrus, 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:33.009 there would be kings to come. And there are four 00:08:33.009 --> 00:08:36.029 of them that are suggested. And that's exactly 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:39.850 what happened. Following Cyrus came Cambyses, 00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:46.389 530 to 522 BC. Following him came a man who pretended 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:51.600 to be an heir to the throne. He is sometimes 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:55.980 called Pseudo -Smerdis, a false Smerdis, because 00:08:55.980 --> 00:08:58.080 after a few months on the throne they found out 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.399 that he in fact was a perpetrator, and so they 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:04.879 threw him out. And then to the throne came Darius 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:11.320 I. He had a long reign from 521 BC to 486 BC. 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:15.440 And then came a fourth king, as Daniel mentions 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.019 here, a fourth one that would stand out. in his 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:22.519 riches, and which would arouse his realm against 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:26.320 Greece. And the fourth king was one who was called 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:30.799 Exerxes. Now he is mentioned in the Bible, although 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:37.879 not by that name. His Hebrew name is Ahasuerus. 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:40.879 Much easier to call him Exerxes, which is the 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:45.200 Greek form of his name. He is the one who married 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:49.269 Esther. And the king in that book is this king, 00:09:49.409 --> 00:09:51.509 the fourth one that Daniel mentions, that would 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:58.929 come. He reigned from 486 BC until 465 BC. And 00:09:58.929 --> 00:10:03.190 in fact, not long after he became king, he aroused 00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:06.409 his forces, got an army of a million men together, 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:10.509 according to the historian Herodotus, and attacked 00:10:10.509 --> 00:10:14.669 Greece. And he had hundreds of ships in his navy. 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:19.519 The reason for his attacking Greece was the avenging 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:23.980 of a defeat given to his father in 490 BC at 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:28.639 Marathon. Xerxes with his army pushed across 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:32.559 Greece, they reduced Athens to ashes, but then 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:36.620 suffered an unexpected naval defeat and as a 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:39.299 result of that had to retreat and eventually 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:44.049 went back home to Persia. In verses 3 and 4, 00:10:44.330 --> 00:10:47.330 then, Daniel is given information regarding the 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:50.649 future of Greece. Now remember, we're skipping 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:54.850 ahead more than a century at this point, or almost 00:10:54.850 --> 00:11:00.649 a century, up to the day of Alexander. It says 00:11:00.649 --> 00:11:03.629 that a mighty king will arise and will rule with 00:11:03.629 --> 00:11:06.850 great authority and do as he pleases. This is 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:10.350 the same figure that we've seen earlier in Daniel. 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:14.360 It is the one described as a winged leopard in 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:17.899 chapter 7 and verse 6 and as a conspicuous horn 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:22.519 on the goat of Daniel 8 verses 5 through 8. It 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:28.720 is Alexander the Great who as the young king 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.919 of Greece conquered Persia. Alexander had quite 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:39.240 a history for about 11 years as he swept across 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:45.190 the the Mesopotamian region. He, however, died 00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:48.730 early at the age of 33 because of malaria and 00:11:48.730 --> 00:11:53.149 alcoholism. And after his untimely and early 00:11:53.149 --> 00:11:56.870 death, as Daniel is told here, his kingdom was 00:11:56.870 --> 00:12:00.850 divided among four generals. These generals were 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:05.169 not relatives, but they were very influential 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:08.779 men under Daniel. They are the same ones as the 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:11.220 four heads on the leopard of chapter 7, verse 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:14.779 6, and the four horns that appeared on the goat 00:12:14.779 --> 00:12:18.279 of chapter 8, and verse 8. To name them, they 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.980 are Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:26.799 A Cassander was given the region of Macedonian 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.639 Greece to reign over. Lysimachus was given Thrace 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:37.019 and Asia Minor. Ptolemy was given Egypt. and 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:41.600 Palestine and Seleucus was given the northern 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:45.340 part of Syria and all of Mesopotamia and so the 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:47.720 kingdom of Alexander the Great was thus divided 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:52.980 exactly as Daniel is told it would be. That brings 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:57.720 us then to verses 5 through 20 which gives a 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:01.340 detailed prophecy of the future struggle between 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:05.840 Syria and Egypt. The King of the North in these 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.679 verses is Syria. And it is the Seleucid Empire 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:15.059 or dynasty that was founded by Seleucus I. The 00:13:15.059 --> 00:13:17.259 King of the South on the other hand is Egypt 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:22.440 in this text. And it is the dynasty of Ptolemy 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:27.379 founded by Ptolemy I. In these verses you find 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:30.039 the battles and maneuverings between the King 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:32.809 of the North and the King of the South. as it 00:13:32.809 --> 00:13:38.309 occurred over about a 225 year period and a succession 00:13:38.309 --> 00:13:42.990 of several kings or rulers. For our purposes, 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:45.149 in our study this morning, we simply want to 00:13:45.149 --> 00:13:47.950 mention the one that stands out the most in verses 00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:51.629 15 through 19. And that is a man who was known 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:56.929 as Antiochus III, or Antiochus the Great. For 00:13:56.929 --> 00:14:00.809 as the king of the north of the Syrian region, 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:04.139 of the Seleucid Empire and dynasty, Antiochus 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:08.960 III, conducted the most extensive campaigns since 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.340 Alexander. His attempt was to try to reunite 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:15.940 the empire in some way to recapture the glory 00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:20.000 of Alexander, yet he failed to do that. His final 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.059 campaign was directed against Rome, but he was 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:27.620 stopped in his tracks by a commander, as Daniel 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:31.090 is told that he would be. In history we know 00:14:31.090 --> 00:14:34.669 that this commander's name was Cornelius Scipio 00:14:34.669 --> 00:14:39.830 Asiaticus. And having been stopped in his fight 00:14:39.830 --> 00:14:45.909 against Rome, Antiochus III went back to his 00:14:45.909 --> 00:14:52.370 homeland, where he soon died. Rome enforced upon 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:57.179 him some very severe peace terms. In order to 00:14:57.179 --> 00:14:59.860 have peace, he had to surrender all of the claims 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.820 to the territory west of the Tarsus Mountains. 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:08.399 Those mountains are on the east side of Asia 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:12.080 Minor. He further had to give up one of the most 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:15.379 powerful elements of his army, an elephant brigade. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:20.240 And he had to give up his navy. In order to have 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.460 peace, he had to send 20 hostages to Rome. Their 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:27.340 basic purpose was to ensure that he would pay 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:31.940 a heavy tax or tribute to Rome that they exacted 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:36.120 from him Now interestingly one of the 20 hostages 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:40.960 was his second son who bore his name Antiochus 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:44.919 the fourth and we'll talk about him in a moment 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:49.600 But upon the death then of Antiochus the great 00:15:49.950 --> 00:15:53.809 His first son ruled in his place. His name was 00:15:53.809 --> 00:15:59.190 Seleucus IV. He reigned from 187 to 176. He is 00:15:59.190 --> 00:16:02.730 the one who is mentioned in verse 20. Because 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:05.409 he was responsible now to pay this heavy tax 00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:10.070 to Rome, he in turn heavily taxed the people 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:14.769 to pay the tribute. Word came to him of valuables 00:16:14.769 --> 00:16:19.440 that were hidden in the Jerusalem temple. And 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.480 so he sent his tax collector there to plunder 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:27.220 the temple in Jerusalem. The man's name was Heliodorus. 00:16:29.620 --> 00:16:32.279 And this gentleman, as he was heading toward 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:36.539 Jerusalem, so secular history tells us, had a 00:16:36.539 --> 00:16:40.720 terrifying vision. It was a vision of himself 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:46.399 being attacked and flogged by angels. Being frightened 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.519 of the vision, he turned around and went back, 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:52.179 did not complete his assignment. We see that 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:54.840 in the Book of Second Maccabees, the third chapter. 00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:00.200 And whatever the intrigue involved, after this 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:03.960 sometime, the same man, this tax collector named 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:10.700 Heliodorus, poisoned the king, Seleucus, hoping 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.299 that he himself would be able to come to power. 00:17:14.790 --> 00:17:18.430 However, history doesn't mention him after his 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:23.289 deed, for in fact the younger son, who had been 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:26.490 held hostage in Rome, had in the meantime been 00:17:26.490 --> 00:17:30.069 released, and was living in Athens, and he heard 00:17:30.069 --> 00:17:32.190 that his older brother had been killed, and so 00:17:32.190 --> 00:17:35.690 he quickly went back to Syria and claimed the 00:17:35.690 --> 00:17:42.450 throne. He reigned from 175 to 163, this gentleman 00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:46.769 who is called Let me back up this beast, not 00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:49.690 gentleman, who is called Antiochus the fourth. 00:17:49.829 --> 00:17:53.710 For he is described now in verses 21 through 00:17:53.710 --> 00:17:58.309 35. The longest portion of this first half of 00:17:58.309 --> 00:18:01.450 the chapter is dedicated to this man. And you 00:18:01.450 --> 00:18:03.990 will notice that the word of God says he was 00:18:03.990 --> 00:18:08.490 a despicable person. And indeed he was evil, 00:18:09.250 --> 00:18:12.519 he was a tyrant. He was a liar and a deceiver. 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:16.299 There was not anything honorable about Antiochus 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:20.000 the fourth. It might be difficult for us to appreciate 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:23.880 this man had we not known Hitler in our own generation. 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:28.259 He was very much like a Hitler. He was able to 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:32.180 consolidate power amazingly. He liked to be called 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:37.279 Antiochus Epiphanes, a Greek word which means 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:41.289 the illustrious one. In fact, he claimed for 00:18:41.289 --> 00:18:45.390 himself deity. But behind his back, those who 00:18:45.390 --> 00:18:48.930 hated him called him Antiochus Epimenes. You 00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:51.970 can hear a similarity in the word. It means the 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:56.869 madman, because that's what he was. This one 00:18:56.869 --> 00:18:59.210 is mentioned also earlier in the book of Daniel 00:18:59.210 --> 00:19:01.910 in the eighth chapter, verses 9 through 12, and 00:19:01.910 --> 00:19:06.549 then again, verses 23 through 25. It is because 00:19:06.549 --> 00:19:11.039 of his profound evil, His deep hatred for the 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:15.980 Jewish people and because he foreshadows another 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:21.740 yet future persecutor of the Jews That so much 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:26.359 space is given to him in Daniel chapter 11 He 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.700 came to power by intrigue as verse 21 suggests 00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:33.720 to us It was not conferred upon him by natural 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.799 succession It did not come upon him because of 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:41.220 conquering, it came upon him because of trickery. 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.380 He illegally seized the throne of his murdered 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:49.599 brother. Verses 23 and 24 tell us that he then 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.720 attempted to bring peace to his kingdom and did 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:57.240 this by redistributing the wealth. He would go 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:00.720 to those who were wealthy and besiege them and 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:05.170 take their riches and... give it to the poor, 00:20:05.789 --> 00:20:08.950 and in such a way he tried to get the poor, which 00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:12.210 were far greater in number, of course, on his 00:20:12.210 --> 00:20:15.529 side. He was always playing one side against 00:20:15.529 --> 00:20:18.369 the other. He always had a hidden agenda somewhere, 00:20:18.910 --> 00:20:21.529 and that was his plan and redistribution of wealth. 00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:26.349 In verses 25 through 27, we see that he moves 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:30.210 against Egypt. It talks again about the king 00:20:30.210 --> 00:20:35.430 of the south, talking about the Ptolemy dynasty 00:20:35.430 --> 00:20:39.410 ruling over Egypt. Now at this particular time, 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:42.950 it's interesting that his own nephew was reigning 00:20:42.950 --> 00:20:46.430 in Egypt because Antiochus' sister, whose name 00:20:46.430 --> 00:20:53.549 was Cleopatra, was married to the Ptolemy king 00:20:53.549 --> 00:20:59.049 of Egypt as sort of a political alliance. And 00:20:59.049 --> 00:21:02.950 she bore a child, in fact two of them. and her 00:21:02.950 --> 00:21:05.470 eldest was on the throne. So Antiochus' nephew 00:21:05.470 --> 00:21:09.250 was actually the one reigning in Egypt. But he 00:21:09.250 --> 00:21:13.569 marched upon Egypt. He brought his smaller army 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:18.609 against a very large Egyptian force and defeated 00:21:18.609 --> 00:21:23.009 it near the Nile Delta. He took his own nephew 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:27.130 prisoner. Although it was a funny way of being 00:21:27.130 --> 00:21:30.730 a prisoner, he treated him well. and yet didn't 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:36.549 allow him any liberty. When this man had been 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:41.089 taken prisoner, the powers to be in Egypt put 00:21:41.089 --> 00:21:45.069 his brother next to him on the throne, and so 00:21:45.069 --> 00:21:48.369 now Antiochus had another nephew who was on the 00:21:48.369 --> 00:21:52.990 throne in Alexandria. Well, the nephew that he 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.569 held prisoner didn't care for that either, and 00:21:55.569 --> 00:21:59.230 so that nephew and Antiochus got together at 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:04.109 a table, as is suggested here by Daniel, and 00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:06.529 at that table they sought to work out some kind 00:22:06.529 --> 00:22:10.309 of a plan whereby they could take this younger 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:13.450 brother off the throne of Egypt, and Antiochus 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:15.549 would put the older brother back on the throne, 00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:19.529 but he would be a puppet to Antiochus. And in 00:22:19.529 --> 00:22:21.869 that way he would be able to reign over Egypt, 00:22:21.950 --> 00:22:25.190 which was his real desire. And so the two of 00:22:25.190 --> 00:22:28.049 them got together at the table. They both pretended 00:22:28.049 --> 00:22:30.069 friendship and they acted like they were going 00:22:30.069 --> 00:22:33.029 to agree together on this to do it. But both 00:22:33.029 --> 00:22:35.390 of them were lying. They had hidden agendas on 00:22:35.390 --> 00:22:38.829 both sides and nothing much ever came of it because 00:22:38.829 --> 00:22:42.589 they marched with their army against or toward 00:22:42.589 --> 00:22:48.410 Alexandria and took over Memphis, but they were 00:22:48.410 --> 00:22:52.079 unable to take over Alexandria. The armies of 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:55.400 Egypt successfully stopped Antiochus IV in his 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:59.440 advance. And as a result of that, he had to stop 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.759 his advance and go back home. In the meantime, 00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:07.799 he installed his imprisoned nephew as king over 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.119 part of Egypt at Memphis. And so at this point, 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:12.859 there were two kings of Egypt, one in Alexandria 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:15.099 over the Ptolemy Empire and one installed by 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:18.279 Antiochus over the part he had conquered. And 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:20.960 he was reigning in Memphis. Not Tennessee, by 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:25.299 the way. Now in verse 28, we find something interesting. 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:27.779 It says, then he will return to his land with 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:30.940 much plunder, but his heart will be set against 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:33.880 the Holy Covenant. That is language that talks 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:36.940 about the covenant of God with the Jews. But 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.940 what happened was that Antiochus was very frustrated 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:44.380 and angry that he was unable to take all of Egypt 00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:47.869 and had to settle for only part of it. And so 00:23:47.869 --> 00:23:50.529 as he turned to go back home, he marched across 00:23:50.529 --> 00:23:55.069 Palestine. And as he came to Jerusalem, he determined 00:23:55.069 --> 00:23:58.670 to rob the temple, and he did. And he desecrated 00:23:58.670 --> 00:24:02.049 it and murdered many of the Jews, the people 00:24:02.049 --> 00:24:05.589 whom he hated above all others. And he put in 00:24:05.589 --> 00:24:10.089 place a high priest who would do his bidding 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:15.059 among the Jews. Well, then verses 29 through 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:18.880 32 tell us that a couple of years later, at the 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:23.599 appointed time, this is 168 BC now, he decided 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:28.279 to make another move against Egypt. And so he 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:31.200 marched his forces again across Palestine, down 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:35.579 against Egypt, but this time, Rome intervened. 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:38.440 Now Rome is growing in power, you see, all of 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:42.400 this time. and does not want Antiochus to gain 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:46.980 any more power. Now they knew Antiochus, because 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:48.440 he had been held prisoner there, remember. He 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:53.019 knew many other people in the Senate. They wanted 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:55.140 to stop him from attacking Egypt, and so they 00:24:55.140 --> 00:25:00.039 sent a very powerful representative, along with 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:03.759 their naval forces, those are the ships of Khatim 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:08.789 that are mentioned here, down to Egypt. and they 00:25:08.789 --> 00:25:12.289 enforced upon Antiochus a decree that he should 00:25:12.289 --> 00:25:15.490 not enter Egypt. They said, if you enter Egypt, 00:25:16.109 --> 00:25:19.329 Rome will come and do battle against you. And 00:25:19.329 --> 00:25:21.269 Antiochus didn't particularly want that at this 00:25:21.269 --> 00:25:27.289 point in his life. He hesitated to agree to this 00:25:27.289 --> 00:25:31.210 forced stopping of his advance. The leader of 00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:34.930 the delegation from Rome drew a circle around 00:25:34.930 --> 00:25:38.220 Antiochus in the sand. And he said, don't come 00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:40.259 out of that circle until you decide what you're 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:44.619 going to do. Well, Antiochus was absolutely humiliated 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:47.019 by this. In front of all of his forces, this 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:52.740 took place. And he had to bow to Rome. And because 00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:56.980 of the tremendous anger, the humiliation, and 00:25:56.980 --> 00:26:00.460 the frustration that he had over the second failure 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:03.640 to take Egypt, he again turned his armies around 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.619 and marched across Palestine. This time doing 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:10.900 even greater damage to the Jewish people, killing 00:26:10.900 --> 00:26:15.220 many of them. Again ransacking the temple, seeking 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:18.799 to destroy the Jewish religion, and giving encouragement 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:23.700 to those who were renegade Jews who acted wickedly 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:26.640 toward the covenant as it mentions in verse 32. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.960 You see among the Jews there were those who were 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.519 cooperating with Antiochus and the Syrian forces. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:34.640 And then there were others, as are mentioned 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:39.680 here, who knew their God and who displayed strength 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:43.500 and who took action. Well, these verses, up through 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:48.259 verse 35, now describe to us a period of Israel's 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:55.019 history that is very dark. On December the 16th, 00:26:55.140 --> 00:27:01.480 167 B .C., Alexander went into the Jewish temple. 00:27:02.990 --> 00:27:06.410 And there in place of the burnt offering, that 00:27:06.410 --> 00:27:10.269 sacred spot to the Jews in their temple, he erected 00:27:10.269 --> 00:27:14.549 a statue and an altar to Jupiter, or to Zeus, 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:17.769 one of the chief of the Roman gods, the Greek 00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:24.470 gods. And he offered there a pig upon this altar. 00:27:26.150 --> 00:27:28.910 Well, this of course was highly offensive to 00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:31.470 the Jews. Not only was there an idol to a false 00:27:31.470 --> 00:27:35.569 god in their temple, but a pig, a swine, the 00:27:35.569 --> 00:27:38.450 dirtiest of animals, of all the unclean animals, 00:27:38.490 --> 00:27:41.509 to the Jew the worst. The blood of that animal 00:27:41.509 --> 00:27:45.829 shed in their temple. It was tremendously offensive. 00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:49.690 At the same time, he ordered that on the 25th 00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:52.430 of every month, in honor of his own birthday, 00:27:53.309 --> 00:27:56.680 the Jews should offer a pig. just like he had. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.359 Well, this is called here the abomination of 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:06.119 desolations. And that is a term that is important 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:09.079 because our Lord speaks of that again as we will 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:11.319 probably see as we look into the next part of 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:16.980 this chapter next week. As a result of this flagrant 00:28:16.980 --> 00:28:22.000 violation of the Jewish religion and conscience, 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:27.579 there were some Jews who reacted. Among those 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:31.759 were a priest by the name of Mattathias and his 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:37.480 five sons. These men led what has come to be 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:41.740 known as the Maccabean Rebellion. This was a 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:46.240 protracted guerrilla warfare against the Syrian 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:50.700 occupation forces and against the Jewish traitors. 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:58.380 It was a time that lasted about three or four 00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:02.180 years. It was a time of tremendous suffering 00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:04.740 and persecution on the part of the Jewish people. 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:08.539 But as is suggested to Daniel here, the result 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:13.779 of it would be to refine, to purge, and to make 00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:18.420 pure until the end time. In other words, the 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:21.339 result of it was that the faithful among God's 00:29:21.339 --> 00:29:26.470 people were refined and purified. Daniel does 00:29:26.470 --> 00:29:30.289 not hear speak of Antiochus' death, but this 00:29:30.289 --> 00:29:36.650 insane man did finally die in 163 B .C. and his 00:29:36.650 --> 00:29:43.029 insanity was probably caused by syphilis. Now 00:29:43.029 --> 00:29:44.849 do you understand what we've covered here in 00:29:44.849 --> 00:29:52.609 brief this morning? Daniel is living about 536 00:29:52.609 --> 00:29:58.009 BC. And God gives to Daniel understanding of 00:29:58.009 --> 00:30:00.369 the events that would take place over the next 00:30:00.369 --> 00:30:05.890 400 years in that part of the world. And not 00:30:05.890 --> 00:30:14.549 just in the broad sense, but in specifics. Now 00:30:14.549 --> 00:30:16.930 I'd like to go on with this chapter, but because 00:30:16.930 --> 00:30:19.509 of its length and what we need to deal with next, 00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:22.509 We're going to wait until next week to talk about 00:30:22.509 --> 00:30:25.450 it. Let me just say that what we've had up to 00:30:25.450 --> 00:30:30.230 this point for us in 1990 is history. Long ago 00:30:30.230 --> 00:30:33.609 it occurred. What we're going to look at next 00:30:33.609 --> 00:30:37.769 is yet future to our own day. For Daniel did 00:30:37.769 --> 00:30:40.230 not realize, he was not given the information, 00:30:40.289 --> 00:30:43.630 that between verses 35 and 36 there would be 00:30:43.630 --> 00:30:49.849 a gap of time, even thousands of years. We're 00:30:49.849 --> 00:30:51.930 going to see that there is another one who is 00:30:51.930 --> 00:30:54.490 coming up on the scene of the world who will 00:30:54.490 --> 00:30:59.069 be every bit the hater of the Jews and of the 00:30:59.069 --> 00:31:02.789 people of God, as was Antiochus IV, who has long 00:31:02.789 --> 00:31:07.970 been in hell. But before I bring this to a close, 00:31:07.990 --> 00:31:10.509 there are some things I'd like to say to you. 00:31:11.509 --> 00:31:14.970 First of all, as we look through this text and 00:31:14.970 --> 00:31:18.549 we think about it, we are confronted with a theological 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:26.579 Question. We see here that God can predict exactly 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:29.859 what is going to happen in the future. The question 00:31:29.859 --> 00:31:37.900 is, can God control it? You see, if he can't 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:40.200 control what's going to happen in the future, 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:46.119 then how can he be God? On the other hand, if 00:31:46.119 --> 00:31:48.779 God can and does control what's going to happen 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:52.720 in the future, why does He permit the rise of 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:59.960 someone like Antiochus IV? Why didn't God cause 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:06.940 His mother to be barren? Why didn't He die in 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:14.849 childbirth? God can predict, but can he control? 00:32:14.910 --> 00:32:18.490 And if he controls, why does he allow someone 00:32:18.490 --> 00:32:24.849 like a Hitler, like an Antiochus, to come up 00:32:24.849 --> 00:32:29.849 on the face of the earth? Well that is a complex 00:32:29.849 --> 00:32:32.250 question that would take a series of messages 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:34.470 to fully explore, but I'd like to suggest two 00:32:34.470 --> 00:32:36.650 or three thoughts to you this morning that may 00:32:36.650 --> 00:32:40.250 stimulate your thinking about it. One is that 00:32:40.250 --> 00:32:43.759 such evil as we see here, is the consequence 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:49.220 of sin. Sin that indwells all of Adam's race. 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:55.339 God is not the originator of sin. Antiochus IV 00:32:55.339 --> 00:32:59.319 and people like him, whether an exterminator 00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:03.920 of a race or an abortionist of one baby, are 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:09.680 the inevitable results of human sin. And in one 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:13.500 sense it is the mercy of God that He allows us 00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:18.640 to see in people like Antiochus IV the grossness 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:22.579 and the consequence of the evil that is in every 00:33:22.579 --> 00:33:28.680 one of us. You see, it puts into perspective 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:34.559 why God so hates sin. Too often we look upon 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:40.900 sin as a game. We see it as a harmless, trifling 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:46.400 thing in our lives that we play with. But in 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:50.720 fact, it is a very malignant principle and power. 00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:55.880 And it destroys. And just as it destroyed the 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:59.759 person of Antiochus IV and those around him and 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:03.839 over whom he reigned, so if we allow sin to reign 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:08.010 in our lives, it will do the same. We may not 00:34:08.010 --> 00:34:11.849 be in the position to fulfill the evil that Antiochus 00:34:11.849 --> 00:34:16.829 did, but where sin reigns it destroys and it 00:34:16.829 --> 00:34:21.150 brings death. The fact is that all of us need 00:34:21.150 --> 00:34:25.349 deliverance from it. And so I say that in one 00:34:25.349 --> 00:34:29.349 sense it is the mercy of God that He allows a 00:34:29.349 --> 00:34:31.650 person like this to come to the surface occasionally 00:34:31.650 --> 00:34:37.119 so that we see the kind of evil that lurks in 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:42.119 every human heart. And it reminds us that we 00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:45.000 need deliverance from that evil that is within 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.619 us. A deliverance that does not come by self 00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:53.900 -reformation. It comes only by the work of Jesus 00:34:53.900 --> 00:35:00.139 Christ in saving us. It is only the power of 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:03.820 the cross of Jesus Christ that can bring an end 00:35:03.820 --> 00:35:09.320 to the tyranny of sin in our lives. It is only 00:35:09.320 --> 00:35:13.059 the risen Christ who can bring the newness of 00:35:13.059 --> 00:35:16.159 His power within us so that we can rise above 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:19.219 the sin principle that even yet dwells within 00:35:19.219 --> 00:35:24.940 the body of the believer. Secondly, I would say 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:28.559 this, that God in His providence allows evil 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:33.179 people to prosper. and to even cause suffering 00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:36.980 so that those who suffer may come to the end 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:42.599 of self -sufficiency and see the wretchedness 00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:45.260 of their own lives independent of God and be 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:48.539 brought to repentance. That seems to be what 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:51.659 is said in verse 35. Part of the purpose of this 00:35:51.659 --> 00:35:55.360 suffering was to refine, to purge, to make pure. 00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:02.510 Suffering, you see, is a moral teacher. Suffering 00:36:02.510 --> 00:36:06.489 is not good in itself, but it may accomplish 00:36:06.489 --> 00:36:09.610 good, you see, if it brings the sufferer into 00:36:09.610 --> 00:36:15.349 submission to God. So why does God allow suffering? 00:36:17.329 --> 00:36:21.030 Well, in part, that it might teach us of our 00:36:21.030 --> 00:36:24.369 need for Him. That we might see the wretchedness 00:36:24.369 --> 00:36:28.070 of our own self -sufficiency and submit our lives 00:36:28.070 --> 00:36:35.369 and our wills to Him. then I would suggest that 00:36:35.369 --> 00:36:40.329 God uses the egotistic tirades and murderous 00:36:40.329 --> 00:36:44.690 deeds of an Antiochus IV to ultimately accomplish 00:36:44.690 --> 00:36:51.829 His own good and beneficent purposes. We need 00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:56.570 to be careful of judging God by our own finite 00:36:56.570 --> 00:37:04.059 standards and judging Him too quickly. God does 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:09.579 not work by our calendar. God is not limited 00:37:09.579 --> 00:37:14.679 in His purposes by our understanding. God has 00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:22.019 His own reasons, and God has His own times. And 00:37:22.019 --> 00:37:25.159 whatever He allows to occur within His providence 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:28.619 and sovereign plan, even if what He allows is 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:31.960 evil and murder and suffering and persecution, 00:37:33.630 --> 00:37:38.610 in the end must accomplish His good purpose. 00:37:41.349 --> 00:37:43.889 And so as we are in the midst of suffering and 00:37:43.889 --> 00:37:48.929 in the midst of persecution, we must be careful 00:37:48.929 --> 00:37:58.070 not to judge God by our standards. There's a 00:37:58.070 --> 00:38:00.010 whole second issue I'd like to talk about briefly, 00:38:00.010 --> 00:38:04.429 and that is this. that God's plan for his own, 00:38:06.070 --> 00:38:09.409 for you and for me, does not preclude suffering. 00:38:11.389 --> 00:38:13.750 Whether that suffering arises from the normal 00:38:13.750 --> 00:38:17.409 hurts and injustices that are a part of the human 00:38:17.409 --> 00:38:22.949 experience, or if it be that particular pain 00:38:22.949 --> 00:38:25.489 and persecution that is the result of our godly 00:38:25.489 --> 00:38:30.730 living, we are not immune to suffering. God has 00:38:30.730 --> 00:38:33.389 not put up a hedge around us that says, you cannot 00:38:33.389 --> 00:38:43.550 get cancer. You cannot die young. God has not 00:38:43.550 --> 00:38:46.349 said to us, if you live godly in Christ Jesus, 00:38:46.409 --> 00:38:50.050 I will deliver you from persecution. Indeed, 00:38:50.070 --> 00:38:52.750 he says just the opposite. He says all who choose 00:38:52.750 --> 00:38:58.130 to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 00:39:02.570 --> 00:39:07.570 So if that is God's plan, if that is God's purpose, 00:39:08.789 --> 00:39:12.050 that we also partake of the suffering of fallen 00:39:12.050 --> 00:39:16.710 humanity, as well as that suffering that comes 00:39:16.710 --> 00:39:21.030 to us because we are saints of God. If that is 00:39:21.030 --> 00:39:25.369 God's plan, then let us be faithful in our suffering. 00:39:29.590 --> 00:39:33.559 Let us glorify God. in the midst of our pain, 00:39:34.980 --> 00:39:42.039 whether that be a physical affliction, or it 00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:49.619 be an emotional loss and disappointment, or if 00:39:49.619 --> 00:39:58.099 it be mental illness and struggles, let us glorify 00:39:58.099 --> 00:40:02.320 God in the pain that we have in our lives. Of 00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:05.880 course. Of course we can pray and ask God for 00:40:05.880 --> 00:40:09.940 grace. We can ask God for wisdom in our suffering. 00:40:11.099 --> 00:40:14.000 And we may even ask God for deliverance from 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:18.260 it if it be His will. But the point is, if it's 00:40:18.260 --> 00:40:22.639 not His will that we be delivered, then let us 00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:27.380 suffer to the glory of God. He tells us if we 00:40:27.380 --> 00:40:32.340 suffer with Him, We may then also be glorified 00:40:32.340 --> 00:40:38.480 together with Him. We have known little suffering 00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:42.780 for our faith in our own nation because of the 00:40:42.780 --> 00:40:47.480 constitutional freedoms of religion. But it is 00:40:47.480 --> 00:40:50.639 interesting how all of this is changing. And 00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:54.340 the change seems to be picking up speed as we 00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:58.190 get into the 90s. Whereas the 80s was called 00:40:58.190 --> 00:41:00.650 the age of the evangelical, I believe that the 00:41:00.650 --> 00:41:03.309 90s will be something much different than that. 00:41:05.989 --> 00:41:08.329 And it will be, I think, that by the end of this 00:41:08.329 --> 00:41:10.909 decade, those who choose to be obedient to the 00:41:10.909 --> 00:41:13.869 Word of God will in fact, in our own culture, 00:41:14.309 --> 00:41:19.650 be suffering some kinds of persecution. Now that 00:41:19.650 --> 00:41:24.150 happens occasionally now. But I think it will 00:41:24.150 --> 00:41:26.630 become more the general rule as time goes on. 00:41:26.650 --> 00:41:29.170 That's simply the direction of things toward 00:41:29.170 --> 00:41:34.170 the end of the age. And so as we suffer, let 00:41:34.170 --> 00:41:37.230 us glorify God in our suffering. Let us honor 00:41:37.230 --> 00:41:41.809 Him as Christians. Those who follow a Savior, 00:41:42.769 --> 00:41:45.929 who left us an example in His own suffering, 00:41:47.630 --> 00:41:51.329 and did not complain, but glorified His Heavenly 00:41:51.329 --> 00:41:58.710 Father. My final point of application today is 00:41:58.710 --> 00:42:02.309 this. I want to urge you to believe that your 00:42:02.309 --> 00:42:07.869 life today is under the control of a sovereign 00:42:07.869 --> 00:42:12.190 God. That he is arranging the circumstances in 00:42:12.190 --> 00:42:14.809 your life in order that he might fulfill his 00:42:14.809 --> 00:42:20.670 ultimate purpose for you. He is. I don't know 00:42:20.670 --> 00:42:25.840 the struggle you may be facing. I don't know 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.719 the questions that are coursing through your 00:42:27.719 --> 00:42:29.920 mind even as I talk about this whole subject, 00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:34.920 but today you and I can know that our hands, 00:42:35.260 --> 00:42:39.119 our lives are in the hands of a sovereign God. 00:42:40.940 --> 00:42:44.480 Believe me, if he can control the destiny of 00:42:44.480 --> 00:42:50.820 empires like Persia and Greece and Rome and Babylon, 00:42:53.710 --> 00:42:55.969 It's a very little thing for him to control the 00:42:55.969 --> 00:43:00.889 destiny of your life and mine. And he is. And 00:43:00.889 --> 00:43:04.610 we need our eyes open to see it. Glenna Oldham 00:43:04.610 --> 00:43:08.369 has written these words, High and marvelous are 00:43:08.369 --> 00:43:12.750 the mysteries in our Almighty God. His ways are 00:43:12.750 --> 00:43:16.849 far beyond our understanding. Nothing is done 00:43:16.849 --> 00:43:21.210 by mere chance or happenstance. And should it 00:43:21.210 --> 00:43:25.730 seem so in my sight, O Lord, then surely blindness 00:43:25.730 --> 00:43:33.070 has come upon me. Although we might lift up our 00:43:33.070 --> 00:43:38.469 eyes and see him who dwells in the heavens and 00:43:38.469 --> 00:43:52.869 know that all is well because he reigns. Just 00:43:52.869 --> 00:43:57.349 as you're seated there, that struggle that you're 00:43:57.349 --> 00:44:00.269 going through, that question mark that hangs 00:44:00.269 --> 00:44:06.289 in your life, perhaps even that resistance or 00:44:06.289 --> 00:44:10.730 that anger against God. Will you give it to Him? 00:44:13.750 --> 00:44:17.090 Child of God, understand that He is in control 00:44:17.090 --> 00:44:21.780 in your life and He loves you. Not only does 00:44:21.780 --> 00:44:24.900 he mean you no harm, in the end he will bring 00:44:24.900 --> 00:44:34.519 good and blessing to you. Believe him. Father 00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:44.059 God, may we today rejoice afresh in the confidence 00:44:44.059 --> 00:44:50.570 of our faith. And may our eyes look up and see 00:44:50.570 --> 00:44:54.170 you, the one who dwells in the heavens and rules 00:44:54.170 --> 00:44:59.829 over the earth. And though we may be in the midst 00:44:59.829 --> 00:45:09.389 of war, or pain, disappointment, or lack of understanding, 00:45:12.090 --> 00:45:17.510 may we be at peace because you reign sovereignly. 00:45:19.340 --> 00:45:21.619 In Jesus' name, amen.