Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20020414.htm

DANIEL: HOPE FOR TODAY'S DISILLUSIONED YOUTH
Part XIV: Yielding To God's USE Of Our Evil World To Refine US
(Daniel 11:36-12:13)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Evil in our world has the potential to disrupt our life's plans:

(1) Take for example the evils affecting us from the Mid East:

(a) In order to cut down on the terrorist suicide bomber attacks, Israeli forces have attacked various Palestinian towns where bomb terrorists and explosive materials were believed to be lodged.

(b) However, the price for Israel is high: the April 8, 2002 ABC Evening News reported a young Arab detained and allegedly beaten by Israelis vowed he would get even by becoming a suicide bomber though this had not been his original goal in life! One wonders how many more young Arabs are making that same choice!

(c) So critical is this conflict to WORLD peace, the U.S. President and the Pope have made strong comments about it!

(2) Then page A16 of the April 11, 2002 issue of Investor's Business Daily reported Frank Cilluffo, special aide to President Bush in the Homeland Security office saying, "The once-clear lines between . . . drug trade, terrorism and organized crime are blurring, crossing and mutating as never before.'" Evil in the underworld is mingling with radical terrorists to mix a heady brew of danger for our world!

(3) As a result of the September 11 attacks, European authorities are promoting the establishment of a world court to oversee even American responses to terrorists to check alleged "genocide" efforts in American forcible advances on perpetrators of the attacks. I received an e-mail from Christian friends on their concern that this emphasis might one day possibly curtail our freedoms as believers.

(4) The Catholic Church's sex scandal now affects all levels of its hierarchy: the popular Brad Davis, host of "The Brad Davis Show" on Torrington, Connecticut's radio station AM 610 on April 12, 2002 reported how Cardinal Bernard Law repeatedly moved a known child-molesting priest from parish to parish. Brad Davis, himself a convert to Catholicism, openly stated he believed the Cardinal should resign, and urged his listening audience to voice their opinion on this. Yet, Brad conceded that only with permission from the Pope can a cardinal resign, making for more tension with concerned parishioners!

With so much world evil possibly harming the quality of life we might plan for the future, HOW can we effectively LIVE?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "I am CONCERNED over the RUIN that EVILS producing death in the Mid East, destruction in family relationships or economic woes might do to my life's DREAMS! Any suggestions?!"
  1. As we noted, God gave Daniel his Daniel 10-12 vision when he was distressed over what EVIL in his world had done to his life's hopes:
    1. Though Cyrus had decreed Hebrew captives could return to rebuild their land, those who had returned were oppressed by Gentiles, Dan. 10:1a; Ezra 1:1-4; Neh. 1:1-3 with Ryr. St. Bible, KJV, ftn., Neh. 1:1.
    2. Also, the returned exiles themselves were sinful, being spiritually lethargic, materialistic, distrusting of God, greedy, ritualistic and spiritually hindered by sin in their high priest, (Haggai & Zechariah).
    3. Besides all this, God had repeatedly given Daniel troubling visions of Israel's future mistreatment by notable Gentile oppressors [in Antiochus Epiphanes (under Grecian rule) and the coming antichrist (under the Revived Roman Empire's rule), cf. Dan. 8:23-27; 7:23-28].
    4. Thus, Daniel who had been a captive for decades and unable to return to his homeland mourned for 3 weeks over unmet hopes prior to God's sending him angels with the Daniel 10-12 vision, Dan. 10:2-3.
  2. Thus, among other prophetic details, God showed the TROUBLE Israel would face under EVIL RULERS to REVEAL His USE of EVIL as a CRUCIBLE to REFINE people for MESSIAH'S ERA!
    1. In predicting the rise of Greece's vile ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes (B. C. 175-163), and telling of his defiling of Israel's temple, the angel noted Antiochus' regime would purify believers of that generation, Dan. 11:21-34, 35a, Bible Know. Com., O.T., p. 1367, 1369-1370.
    2. Yet, as the world would still be wayward in LATER executing God's Messiah, Jesus (cf. Dan. 9:26 and the Gospel records), what was predicted of Antiochus applied to the very END when a final purification was needed to prepare men for Messiah's reign, 10:35b.
    3. That final purification is predicted in Daniel 11:36-12:13 as follows:
      1. The future antichrist will magnify himself above every god to the great unrest of all godly and false religious people, Dan. 11:36-39:
        1. The antichrist will be allowed to prosper in exalting himself above every god, including even the true God, Daniel 11:36.
        2. He will reject religious heritage (11:37) and all Messianic hope, ["desire of women" = women wish to bear Messiah], Ibid., 1371
        3. In place of these, he will exalt the god of forces, and parcel out temporal riches to all who follow him, Daniel 11:38-39.
        4. The king of the south (Egypt and allies) with the king of the north (Russia and allies) will try a joint invasion against his rule in union with Israel [as antichrist will have a 7-year treaty with Israel, 11:40; 9:27, cf. Pentecost, Things To Come, p. 340-356].
        5. As the Russian group will move fast with force over land and sea and destroy Jerusalem (Zec. 12:2; Dan. 11:40b), God will supernaturally destroy them, Ez. 38-39; Zec. 12:4, Ibid., p. 356
        6. Antichrist will then break his treaty to invade Israel, pollute her temple (Dan. 9:27b) and defeat Egypt's alliance, 9:27; 11:41-43
        7. Yet, he will hear news of Asia's advance on him, and turn back from Africa to fight them, Dan. 11:44. He will plant his capital between the Mediterranean and Dead seas (at Jerusalem) before Christ destroys him at Christ's Second Coming, 11:45; Rev. 19.
      2. Now, though this will be Israel's (and the world's) worst age of trouble (12:1a,b), it will spiritually purify people in preparation for Messiah's Kingdom to come, Daniel 12:1c, 2, 10; Rev. 20:1-6.
      3. The angels giving Daniel the vision answered his question (12:8) on the results of this era in adding details of this purification:
        1. As antichrist's persecution would last for 3 years (Dan. 12:7), this time would cause believers to be purified while leaving the unsaved in continued evil and spiritual darkness, Dan. 12:10.
        2. Since an additional 30 days occur after the 1260 days of the Hebrew 3 year time period [Dan. 12:11], Christ will judge people that month, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Dan. 12:11.
        3. Finally, those who survive this judgment as the godly will enter Messiah's reign 45 days after that judgment (i.e., 75 days after the 1260 days of the Hebrew 3 years [12:12]); they will be resurrected if deceased and shine as the stars with God's reward for righteously serving Him (Daniel 12:2a, 3) and see God's promises to them fulfilled (esp. as Hebrews like Daniel who will dwell in their rightful land lots [12:13]), Rev. 20:1-6.
        4. Conversely, the unsaved will suffer damnation, Daniel 12:2b.
Lesson Application: In VIEW of the troublesome evils in our world, God urges us to (1) BELIEVE on His Son, Jesus, to be justified from sin (John 1:11-12). (2) Then, like DANIEL and all believers in history, we (a) must be WISE to see the EVIL of the PRESENT WORLD reveals our NEED to FOCUS on God's ETERNAL world to COME, (b) leading us to focus on ushering others into God's coming kingdom, Dan. 12:3; Mtt. 28:19-20!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Last Monday, my Mother who was visiting us with my Dad, led my wife, Nadine, Dad and me through an old white building in Haddam, Connecticut. It used to be a State orphanage that is now used as an extension office of the State's Agricultural Department.

She showed us where, as a child who had been separated from her parents' chaotic marriage by the court in America's "roaring" early 1920s of moral decay, she had lived in emotional distress as a product of that era's decay for some years with several of her sisters.

In a wing of that building, Mom showed us where a young, unwed and gracious teacher named Irene Hurd had taught her and the other homesick children about God's wonderful news: Miss Hurd had spoken of salvation from sin by faith in Jesus and of the Blessed Hope of the rapture where God will take believers to His heavenly home.

Downstairs where she once played, Mom showed where, in a dream she'd later dreamt in the home, she was in a group of children surrounding Jesus, and how Jesus was preparing to take the group to God's heavenly home in the rapture in fulfillment of Irene's words!

Later, Irene Hurd took my mother to live with her as a foster child, and she married a man named John who later became a pastor.



I marvel at God's working: He USED the EVIL crushing of my mother's childhood home life to create a THIRST in HER so that WHEN the gracious Irene Hurd walked into her life with the wonderful words of ETERNAL life in Christ and the hope of going to God's HEAVENLY home, Mom would ACCEPT it!

Thank God Irene Hurd cared enough to put eternal values ahead of the WORLDLY lures she faced as a young woman in the "roaring" 1920s to minister at that State orphanage in Haddam to my mother! I can never repay her. She with her husband, the Reverend Dr. John P. Forsythe, like Daniel, will shine in eternity as the stars of heaven forever and ever! (Daniel 12:3)