Talk

Prophecies for Perseverance

Ben Stuart

December 8, 2024

Join us as Ben Stuart walks us through the details of the fulfilled prophesies of Daniel 11 and teaches what the Bible says is still yet to come in our future.

Key Takeaway

Because the end of the story is known, you can walk through the suffering of this earth with hope. He will return, make everything right, and destroy the enemy and evil with a single breath.

Daniel 11 is a selective yet detailed overview of the flow of history from Daniel's time in the 6th century BC through the end of the world and the antichrist.

Why does God give us prophecy in the first place? So we will remember and stand firm. Prophecy is for perseverance. God gives it so we can endure in times of difficulty. Daniel’s main question was whether His people would survive and whether God was still in control. The angel answered him on a micro and macro level.

The angel told Daniel about three more Persian kings to come. A fourth, King Xerxes, would arise stronger than the rest, but he would stir up trouble against Greece. After him, Alexander the Great arrived and conquered from Greece to India. He died young, and his kingdom was divided among his four generals. These are the four heads of the leopard in Daniel chapter 7 and the four horns of the goat in chapter 8.

Next, Daniel heard prophecies concerning the Kings of Egypt and Syria, the Ptolemies and Seleucids. They were to the North and South surrounding Israel. The angel continued, but we must acknowledge the level of detail Daniel was given as he struggled to understand if God was in control.

Daniel 11:5-19 shows the continuous wars back and forth between the North and the South involving all sorts of sordid relationships and motives involving families and backstabbing friends. All the while, Israel is a political football caught in the middle.

Suddenly, the story slowed down to focus on Antiochus IV, who called himself “the appearance of glory,” but the people called him “the madman.” He was the little horn in Daniel 8 who unleashed a persecution unlike any before on the people of God. He was foreshadowed in Daniel 7 as an apocalyptic ruler who set to desecrate the Holy Place and persecute God’s people.

He was a man who was accepted even though he was a usurper and a liar because of his ability to overcome armies. He plundered the richest parts of his conquest through deception. He was given power, but God limited his time. While passing through Israel, he saw that they were resisting being Hellenized. He killed thousands of men, enslaved others, and plundered their Temple. When he left to attack the South again, he was met by the Romans, who threatened war if he attacked. Humiliated, he returned home by going through Israel again and took his anger out on them. He took away their burnt offerings and religious holidays, burned the Torah, and set up the abomination of desolation. He put up an altar to Zeus and sacrificed a pig on that altar, desecrating the Temple of Yahweh.

When the angel references the wise, he talks about those who keep their faith. God will allow pain, but that pain is a tool to refine us.

The angel let Daniel know that the nation would not have autonomy as it had under David; instead, it would be under Gentile rule and would have to endure to the end.

Then, the angel starts talking about something more significant. Before, he spoke of Antiochus; now, he will talk about who he represents: the antichrist.

In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of His coming and the end of the age would be. He said there would be “birth pangs,” but when they saw the abomination of desolation, they would know it had arrived. What Antiochus did in the Temple was a picture of what would come. Jesus refers to it as coming in the future.

The little horn, the beast, the man of lawlessness, and the antichrist all refer to the same person. He will have incredible power, say shocking things against God, and claim to be Him—but his time is limited. He only cares for power and riches. At the time of the end, there will be a significant battle involving many different countries, fought at the great mountain in Israel. However, he ends up with no one to help him.

The lesson is that Daniel hoped his life would get easier, but God showed Daniel that he rules over all nations even when it looks like He doesn’t. His word is faithful and true, yet there will be suffering coming. He lets us know the future, so we’ll endure. It’s a glorious future that pulls us through a complicated present.

There is a day when Jesus will return and destroy the enemy, end evil, and judge all associated with it. We are not in those days of judgment now; we are in the days of grace. He is assembling people of every tribe and tongue to be His. He defeats the antichrist with a breath. Evil falls; Christ will rule.

“

"It’s a glorious future that pulls us through a difficult present."

”

Ben Stuart

Discussion Questions

What question was Daniel asking, and why did the angel answer in such detail?
Why does God give us prophecy? How is it used for our good?
Give a high-level overview of how the prophecies found in Daniel 11 were fulfilled in history.
When the story slows down to focus on Antiochus IV, who is he foreshadowing for us to see?
What are some of the attributes that Antiochus Epiphanes so horrible? How did he desecrate the Temple with the abomination of desolation?
How does Jesus describe the end times in Matthew 24:1-16?
What are the characteristics of the antichrist? What are the other names that he was given in?
What is the good news and the bad news of Matthew 24:21-22, 31? What does this tell us about how God views pain and suffering in our lives?
Read Daniel 11:35. God does allow pain on His people, but what does he use that pain as a tool for?
If we are in Christ, we know the end of our story. How does it all end, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:8?

Scripture References

1And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)

The Kings of the South and the North

2“Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

5“The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. 6After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

7“One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. 10His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

11“Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. 12When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. 13For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.

14“In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. 15Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. 16The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. 17He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. 18Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. 19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

20“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

21“He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. 22Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. 23After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. 24When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

25“With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. 26Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. 27The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. 28The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

29“At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33“Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

36“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. 37He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.

40“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission. 44But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

8“Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2

“Do you see all these things?”

he asked.

“Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered:

“Watch out that no one deceives you.

For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’

spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.

Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.

How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!

Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

See, I have told you ahead of time.

“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the distress of those days

“ ‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth

will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it

is near, right at the door.

Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,

but only the Father.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’

and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.

He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Ben Stuart

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.