Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20110410.htm
THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION Daniel: Hope And Direction In A Troublesome World H. Detailing Daniel 2: God's Use Of Evil Rulers To Purify His People 7. God's Endgame In Letting Us Face Evil Rulers (Daniel 11:36-12:1, 7b)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In this series of messages out of the book of Daniel, we have learned that God lets us face evil rulers and institutions as a means of purifying us on the spiritual plane.

That being so, we may want to know what God's endgame plan is for US so we can adjust NOW for blessing versus being strung along to suffer one jolt of evil after another without coming to a less painful, quick and edifying resolution to it all in our minds and hearts!

Evil world events, after all, are rather punishing to the psyche:

(1) The April 4, 2011 issue of the nationwide newspaper, USA TODAY, p. 12A ran four letters to the editor expressing concern over some economic problems Americans face due to various alleged evils.

(2) Economic evil truly exists: The New York Times ran a story, "G. E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether" on March 24, 2011 (nytimes.com) telling how giant corporation, General Electric, though profiting $14.2 billion from its worldwide enterprises in 2010, not only did not pay any U. S. federal income tax, but actually obtained a $3.2 billion refund from the Treasury Department!

G. E.'s tax department hires past IRS and Treasury officials and members of nearly all the tax-writing committees in Congress, and that with a fierce lobbying effort to modify tax laws and an innovative accounting effort explains G. E.'s tax advantage that leaves middle class Americans who lack such breaks bearing G. E.'s tax load! (Ibid.)

(3) Understandably, then, another authority Brad Davis interviewed last Tuesday reported that a recent poll showed 72 % of Americans feel government and big business leaders have let them down when it comes to guarding their share of the "American Dream"!

(4) Pastor Terry Jones who runs the Dove World Outreach Center finally fulfilled his former threat to burn copies of the Koran on March 20th, and it led to volatile demonstrations in Afghanistan that left innocent people dead. (Ibid., "Unrest spreads in Afghanistan," by William M. Welch, p. 9A) One wonders when some other unwise action by some such religious figure will ignite an even bigger demonstration with bigger, costlier repercussions on the world scene!

Thus, we ask, "What is God's endgame' in letting me FACE such evil and evil overseers in this era? I want to know so I can ADJUST NOW for BLESSING without having to keep mentally languishing under such evil and exasperating trials!"

Need: "If God lets us face evils in world groups and leaders to purify us, what is His endgame? I want to know so I can fast-forward' to His blessing by reacting as He wants me to do as soon as I can!"


1. Daniel 11:36-45 predicts in the greatest detail in the book of Daniel the events of the antichrist's horribly oppressive reign (as follows):
1. Though the events of Daniel 11:21-35 were fulfilled in the reign of evil ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, the Daniel 11:36-45 events have not yet occurred, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament , p. 1370.
2. Thus, the Daniel 11:35 NIV phrase, " . . . it will still come at the appointed time" indicates Antiochus Epiphanes' past rule prefigures the antichrist's future rule that horribly mistreats many people, especially Israel, in the Great Tribulation Period (as follows), Ibid.:
1. This antichrist will rise independent of all authority but himself (Dan. 11:36a), exalting and magnifying himself above all gods and blaspheming God until the Lord finally judges him, Dan. 11:36b.
2. Opposite religious precedent and hope in Messiah (what every Hebrew woman hoped to bear), the antichrist will exalt himself and honor the god of forces (Daniel 11:37-39b NIV), Ibid., p. 1371.
3. He will win followers by favoritism, Daniel 11:39c; Ibid.
4. In the Tribulation, the kings of the north (Russia) and south (Egypt and her allies) will try to combat him, coming against Israel with whom the antichrist has made a 7-year peace treaty, Daniel 11:40a with 9:27a; J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come, 1972, p. 354.
5. The northern king (Russia) will be slain by God's supernatural fire and brimstone (Ezek. 38-39), leaving a power vacuum in the area, so the antichrist who will rule the revived Roman empire (Dan. 2:43-44) will take advantage of this vacuum to invade the Middle East (Num. 24:24), overflow many countries (Dan. 11:40b-41), with only the lands east of the Jordan River being unaffected as he goes swiftly south into Egypt to defeat and spoil it and to subdue Libya and Ethiopia who are in league with Egypt, Daniel 11:42-43.
6. Then, news of the advance of Oriental armies (Rev. 16:12) will alarm him, so he will turn back to Israel to destroy in fury. He will plant his royal tents between the Mediterranean and Dead seas in the temple mount, and defile the temple, Dan. 11:44-45a with 9:27.
7. As these armies prepare to fight each other (Rev. 16:14-16), they see Christ coming in the clouds, and join to fight Him, but Christ destroys them and sets up His reign, Dan. 11:45b; Rev. 19:17-20:4.
2. The result of God's letting the antichrist persecute those who trust in Christ in this Great Tribulation Period will be their purification as their own human "power" is fully shattered, Dan. 12:1, 7b ESV:
1. The word "power" (yad) in Daniel 12:7b KJV of the Hebrew Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1282) means "hand (strength, power, ability and dominion)"; B. D. B., Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 388-391.
2. Thus, God will let the antichrist rise to shatter the human strength, power, ability and dominion of His people, Daniel 12:1, 7b.
3. From Matthew 23:37-39, we know WHY this full shattering of the human strength, power, ability and dominion of God's people is so ESSENTIAL to their PURIFICATION in God's plan (as follows):
1. Though God sent Israel many prophets to get her to trust in Him for protective blessing, Israel had refused, relying on herself, Matt. 23:37.
2. Thus, Israel would initially miss her Kingdom blessings, Matt. 23:38.
3. She would see her Messiah only after facing the antichrist to find in great trials that she could not help herself, but only look to Christ and say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," Matt. 23:39!
4. This "shattering-of-the-people's-power-before-the-kingdom" theme appears in SIMILAR format in God's program for US TODAY:
1. Christ promises us believers in our CURRENT era of the Church, the Laodicean Church era, to sit enthroned with kingdom-like influence on His "Messianic throne" (Rev. 3:21) providing we have looked to Him to let us suffer great Revelation 3:18 purifying trials.
2. These trials involve a "crushing" of the believer to where he learns to cease relying on his own human power and that of the evangelical community and world around him and rather to hide in Christ's protective spiritual provisions for ALL he needs (like our Revelation 3:14-22 lessons teach)! [See the home page of our Church's web site for the file on this entire lessons series.]

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as Savior to receive eternal life, John 1:11-12. (2) Then, (a) INSTEAD of trying to respond to evils in life by OUR power, (b) may we RELY FULLY on GOD'S Biblical provisions for ALL of life and service for BLESSING!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

To illustrate how to apply this message in a real life situation, we refer to a story that ran in the April 4, 2011 issue of USA TODAY.

On page 13A of this paper was an article by Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University, and it was titled, "Muslim teacher's lawsuit: an overreach." It told how an American Muslim teacher, Safoorah Khan, is being backed by the current presidential administration in her lawsuit against the MacArthur Middle School of Berkeley, Illinois for refusing to let her have 19 days of unpaid leave in 2008 to go on a pilgrimage [the Muslim "hajj"] to Mecca.

She had asked for the leave less than a year after starting the job, and the days she wanted off "fell in the grading period at the end of the semester" when her students greatly needed her help, and "she was one of only two math lab instructors at her school." (Ibid.)

Khan's beliefs made this request very important to her: Kamran Menon, Khan's attorney, said: "Muslims are required to make the hajj as soon as they can.' If you are unable to go but you put it off, and then because of poor health or economic difficulties are unable to do so before you pass away, then you die as a sinner'" and go to hell! (Ibid.)

The law says "employers must reasonably accommodate' the religious practices of their employees," but Prothero argued Khan's request could NOT be "reasonably accommodated." (Ibid.)

This is quite a stand for a progressive Professor who publicly supported the building of the Islamic mosque near Ground Zero, Ibid.

Well, as BELIEVERS, instead of becoming upset over what appears to be the government's siding with a Muslim far in excess of what it would do for one of any other religion, realizing we have no power to affect the case outcome, WE should REJOICE that GOD does NOT call US to have to make a physical pilgrimage to Calvary to be SAVED! Our hope is SURE by FAITH in JESUS!

Also, WE should share the Gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ alone to all the lost so they DON'T HAVE to make ANY pilgrimage to Mecca or anywhere else to gain salvation!



May we tell God's truth in His power, hiding under His wings as Jesus wanted Israel to do when it comes to the fallout of the Khan case! After all, He is our only able Helper in this world!