God has every right to say, because of your constant harlotries, because of the incessant disobedience, I forever turn my back on you. Because you have known so much, received so much, had so much, yours are the covenants and the promises, because you've had it all, and you've turned your back on me, I write you off.
But He never says that. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm Phil Johnson, your host. How close are we to the end of the world? Whether it's the fighting in Eastern Europe or the unrest in the Middle East or the never-ending conflict between Israel and the nations surrounding it, you might think the final days are practically here. While we can't know that for sure, one thing is certain, the world's future is unquestionably tied to the future of Israel.
That's the title of John's current series. But before we turn our thoughts to events yet to happen, there's a lot right now that deserves our attention as well as our thanks. John, I'm talking about the men and women who not only study along with us on the radio, but who also take a more active role in our broadcast and in everything we do. We thank the Lord for them, and I know you want to thank them directly as well. Well, we talk about that so much. This ministry is supported by gifts from faithful people.
This is what? Ninety percent of our income or more? At least.
Yeah. It comes from donations from people who are blessed by the Word of God. And that's the way we want it. We want always to be, I guess in a sense, at the mercy of our listeners.
We want to be always in a position that we're saying we want to know that what we're doing is meeting people's needs, and the way we can know that is by the response that they provide for us. And so you have done that, and it's astonishing to me after all these decades of teaching the Word of God, how the ministry of grace to you is stronger than it's ever been, more tens of thousands of people all around the world listening, drawing down these resources. You have made all of that possible through the years.
I mean, we're here. We can do the technical part, the work part of putting everything together, but it's your investment that allow us to do that and then to make it available to everywhere around the world. This is because of your faithfulness. Our ministry couldn't extend beyond our four walls without people like you. You pray for us. You support us financially. You tell others about grace to you, and that means everything to us. So we're profoundly thankful for your willingness to trust us with the truth and with your generous gifts. And look, I see your support as a reflection of your love and appreciation for what we're doing, and particularly for the Lord and His precious Word. So what you do so faithfully for grace to you doesn't go unnoticed by us and certainly not by the Lord.
It is a sweet savor to Him. So a big thank you for participating in our ministry however you can, and know that we especially need your continued prayers. That's right, friend. It's because of your support that we are able to connect people around the world with life-changing biblical truth.
I'll have more details on how you can partner with us after the lesson. But for now, turn to Daniel chapter 11 and follow along with John. Now look at verse 10. We come to another king. The third one is Antiochus the Great. We've seen Asuaras, we've seen Alexander, now we come to Antiochus the Great. And history again doesn't even argue.
You can read a liberal commentary or you can read a conservative commentary and they all come up with the same names because there's so much evidence in this area. Now remember that the Ptolemy of the south at this particular point in verse 10 has conquered. So he's kind of ruling in Israel.
He's kind of got the power base. He's defeated Callinicus in the north. Ptolemy Uergates, if you want the name, has defeated Callinicus in the north. Callinicus fell off his horse and died.
And now the north doesn't like the south winning. So Callinicus had two sons. Verse 10, his sons plural, shall be stirred up and shall assemble a multitude of great forces. And one of them shall certainly come and overflow pass through and return and be stirred up even to the fortress. One of Callinicus' sons died. The other one became the king of the north. His name, Antiochus the Great. And he came. And it says he would come with a multitude of great forces.
History tells us he had 75,000 soldiers. And he came to attack Egypt and he stomped right through the land of Israel. Verse 11 says, and the king of the south was moved with anger.
Wouldn't you be? Somebody arrive at your border with 75,000 soldiers and he comes forth and he fights with the king of the north and he shall set forth a great multitude. And so the multitude begins to fight. Now the king of the south is Ptolemy also by the name of Philapater. He has 73,000 men, the history tells us. Five thousand cavalry and he also had 73 elephants.
They used elephants like battering rams and to carry things and so forth. And so this tremendous war goes on. Verse 12, and when he hath taken away...and the he's and the him's are very difficult to figure out in here unless you know the history.
And so we'll just run by it as quick as we can. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up and he shall cast down many ten thousands, but he shall not be strengthened by it. The king of the south was very effective in the battle. History says that they caused the north, Antiochus the Great, to lose 10,000 footmen, 300 cavalry, and five of their elephants.
This we know from the historian Polybius. But this didn't really strengthen the king of the south. It just made the king of the north more angry. And so in verse 13, the king of the north is to return. And he'll come down with a multitude greater than the last multitude. And he'll certainly come after certain years.
Amazing! It was 13 years later that he came back, exactly as the angel had said, with a great army and great riches. And he came back to get his revenge. Verse 14, in those times there so many stand up against the king of the south. Boy, he had a great army.
And people were joining it along the way because they hated the south so much. And look at this, also the robbers of thy people. Who were Daniel's people? The Jews.
Who were the robbers? Well, the Hebrew term here means sons of breaking, children of breaking. And what that means is people who don't keep their promise, covenant breakers. They are the rebels.
It could be translated men of violence who break the law. Frankly, what they are is strong-willed apostate Jews who are revolutionaries. They are like mercenary soldiers and they join the cause of the king of the north.
And they aid him in his attack. Really most historians feel they wanted Judean independence, these mercenaries, these apostate Jewish revolutionaries. They thought that by war, if they could get in with Antiochus the Great, knock off Egypt, maybe Antiochus would give them freedom for their assistance. That's really what they wanted. But at the end of verse 14, it says they shall fail. They didn't get their goal.
He didn't give them what they had hoped to get. Verse 15, so the king of the south comes, casts a siege mount and it goes on to describe how the battle takes place. And by the way, if you want to know who won, it's very simple, the north won.
The north literally routed the south, destroying them. And then verse 16, this is the key, but he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will and none shall stand before him, that is the king of the north, Antiochus the Great, and he shall stand in the glorious land. What is a glorious land? What land is that? That's the land of Israel.
And here again we see the same kind of thing. They didn't get their independence. The mercenaries didn't get what they wanted. All they got was domination by Syrian power from the north, the Seleucids. Antiochus the Great took a lasting dominion over Palestine.
Now he was a smart man. Because some of them had assisted him in the battle with the south, he gave them some money, he treated them with some favor, but he was basically their captor. He decides in verse 17 to strengthen his power and to keep Egypt on his side, so he does something that's kind of interesting. He sets his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom and upright ones with him, and he gives him the daughter of women.
Now that's probably a term referring to somebody who is the height of femininity. He picks out some fabulously lovely person. In fact, it turned out to be his daughter who was named Cleopatra. And he gave Cleopatra to the Ptolemy king, and he said, here, take her and marry her as a sign of good faith. And what he really wanted was to plant a spy in the palace.
But you know what happened? She loved her husband more than her father, and the whole thing failed. Verse 17 says at the end, she shall not stand on his side nor be for him.
That didn't work. Now why does the Bible put a little thing you're saying? Why does the Bible put any of this in here? Just to show you how absolutely God knows history before it ever happens. If you for a minute think anything happens in history without God's control, you're wrong. He determines all the boundaries of the nations.
History is, as someone said, his story. Verse 18, after this shall he turn his face to the coastlands. You know, once Antiochus the Great had conquered that part of the world, he decided to go to the coastlands, and that meant, if you will, the Mediterranean Islands and the borders of Greece. He was going to get Greece.
Well, you know who had the power out there? By this time, Rome did. And so as he turns his face to the coast and takes many, a prince on his own behalf causes the reproach offered by him to cease. Without his own reproach, he shall cause it to turn upon him. What it simply means is that it brought him into conflict with Rome, the prince, and Rome utterly routed him. In 190 BC, he was routed by the Roman soldiers. Verse 19, he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and not be found. You know what he did after Rome beat him? He was so distressed he went back to his own land, and in a fit one time, he tried to plunder the temple in his own land and steal all the treasures in there, and the people got so mad they murdered him on the spot.
He wasn't found anymore. He was followed by another ruler, verse 20. This is interesting. The guy who stood up in his estate was a raiser of taxes. Now, what is that supposed to mean?
You know what? When Rome defeated him, they said from then on, Syria, you will pay taxes to Rome. And they were required to pay a thousand talents periodically to the Roman power.
Therefore, the next king had to be a raiser of taxes. Finally, what God said would happen, happened. The detail, people, is thrilling. The Bible is accurate. So, we meet Ahasuerus, Alexander, Antiochus the Great, fourthly, Antiochus Epiphanes.
Now, we're going to really fly through this one, so hold on to your seat. Antiochus Epiphanes. Now, I don't want to get all bogged down in too much detail, but I do want you to get the message and all of this was written by God and He has a purpose for it. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person.
How would you like to have that for your epitaph or for your introduction? A vile, contemptible, wretched, rotten person. And he will stand up in the place of Antiochus the Great and they'll...to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom. They don't give it to him, but he comes in in a sneaky way and obtains it by flattery. Do you know that Antiochus Epiphanes who is referred to here had no right to reign, he had no legitimate claim to the throne, he had absolutely no right at all, but he gained it by intrigue and by flattery and by buying off certain individuals. And he got in there. Verse 22, and with the arms of a flood shall they be overthrown from before him and shall be broken.
And that is the south. He literally devastated the Egyptians and the king. Verse 23, and after the league made with him, he shall work deceitfully for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small people.
He tried to adopt a policy of friendship with Egypt, but he violated it and he broke it and he did everything he did. He plotted, he worked out all kinds of things. It's very interesting in verse 24 that he entered peaceably upon the fattest places of the province. Boy, when he saw there was crop or money or something to be gained, he came in all hearts and flowers and with peace and so forth and so on and he did what his fathers never did before.
He was wily and smart and he gained greater acceptance. And then when he got spoiled, he scattered among the people and he let them share in it and he made it all look so good. And then at the end of verse 24, he was plotting against the strongholds. Whenever he saw a strong village or a strong group, he would plot their destruction.
So on the one hand, he looks like Robin Hood. On the other hand, anything begins to move in his kingdom, he puts it down fast. He's building an incredible power base. In verse 25, he has another war with Egypt. He stirs up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army and the king of the south is stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army but he shall not stand for they shall plot against him. Another war with Egypt, this time at Pelusium, and Egypt lost and it tells you why, because the counselors of the Egyptian king himself betrayed him.
In fact, his trusted counselors turned against him. It says his own men plotted against him. Verse 26, yea they that feed of the portion of his food shall destroy him. His own troops, his own soldiers and his army will overflow and many shall fall down slain. Verse 27, and both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief.
Both of them were evil. Here's this war. Egypt is lost. So they decide to sit at a table. They want to come to the table.
We still do that, don't we? You see all these guys around a big table and they're all signing these meaningless treaties. You know how many treaties have been broken in the history of the world?
All of them. Just wanted to get that in. They sit at a table. They speak lies and their supposed talk doesn't prosper. For yet the end shall be at the time appointed. They made promises they never meant to keep and God had it all in the plan anyway. Then after this he returns to his land with great riches. His heart shall be against the holy covenant and he shall do exploits and return to his own land. Now listen, here we are right back in Israel after Antiochus Epiphanes has this deceitful meeting in the south. He comes back and again he does things against the holy covenant. He comes back into the land of Israel and desecrates the land. In fact, he marched on Jerusalem after he left this meeting in Egypt. He marched on Jerusalem and he sacked the city and he cruelly slaughtered people and he brought about horrible suffering. Verse 29, he returned and came toward the south but it wasn't as the former or as the latter.
Now, you ever seen a picture where the Indians and the cowboys were in a battle and off in the distance you hear the sound of the cavalry to the rescue? That's what happens in verse 30. Kitim, the ships of Kitim. That's an ancient name for Cyprus and probably is a general reference to the Roman army, the Roman Empire, the Roman power. The ships of Kitim would be the Roman fleet. By now the Ptolemies are so sick of Antiochus Epiphanes that they say to Rome, send us a fleet. And so they do and they come against Antiochus. He is grieved and returns because he can't do anything against Egypt because of the Roman navy that he fears.
So what does he do? Verse 30, watch this, he has indignation against the holy covenant. Against the holy covenant. He even returns and has intelligence or special meetings, watch this, with those who forsake the holy covenant. He gets back with these apostate Jews. He begins to raise support from them. And then it happens.
Then it really happens. Verse 31, and the forces shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the...what?...sanctuary and take away the daily sacrifice and place the abomination that maketh desolate. He is so frustrated now by the Romans. He goes back into the place of Israel, back into Jerusalem. First thing he does is he puts guards all around the temple.
Nobody can worship. He stops the sacrifice. He halts all worship. And then on a given Sabbath, he sends his soldiers into the city and he slaughters all the children they can find. And then he slaughters all the women. And then he makes heathen idolatry mandatory. And then he has nakedness flaunted by supposed athletes in full view of the temple ground. He enforces Greek culture upon the Jews.
He erects a statue of the main god of the Greeks, Zeus, on the very altar in the temple. He slays a pig on the altar in the temple and makes the priests eat the pork. This is the abomination of desolations. He abominates the temple to make it desolate. And he even had some Jews in with him. Verse 32, And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries. Found some apostate Jews to even agree to get involved. But the end of verse 32, The people that do know their God shall be strong and do right, do exploits. However you want to translate that. The people that really know God resisted.
Now I want to read 33 and 34. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil for many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help, but many shall cling to them with flatteries. The angel says, Daniel, if you think the 70 years is the end, you've missed it. There'll be 70 years. And then at the end of that 70 years, there'll be an Ahasuerus who will dominate your land. And then there will be an Alexander who will dominate your land. And then there will be an Antiochus the Great who will overrun your land. And then there will be an Antiochus Epiphanes. And by the way, Epiphanes was the name he took for himself.
It meant great one and they called him Epimenes, which meant maniac, madman. There will always be this and finally it will culminate in a desecration that is beyond your belief. And it says in verse 33, they'll fall by the sword, by flame, by captivity, by spoil. And that's exactly what happened. But verse 34, when they shall fall, they'll be helped with a little help.
What was that? During this time of horrible persecution, and it was mass slaughter of the Jews in their land by Antiochus Epiphanes. In fact, he's called the Antichrist of the Old Testament because he so pictures the Antichrist. There arose a group of Jews who were known as Hasidians. Have you ever heard of a Hasidic Jew? That's a term that came out of the Maccabean period. This group of Hasidians, they stood for the law.
They're talked about in the Maccabees, 1 Maccabees chapter 2. They had a leader and their leader was Judas Maccabees. This is a time of history that is not spoken of in the Bible. It occurred in the 400 years between the Old and New Testament. But Judas Maccabees was able to lead a successful revolt.
And he is the one who helped with a little help. It was just temporary relief from persecution. And by the way, Judas Maccabees got all those apostate Jews and he treated them with bloody severity. Verse 35, and some of them of understanding shall fall to test them and to purge and to make them white.
Now wait a minute. Why is all this happening? Why are you doing this, God?
Here it is. To test, to purge, to make them white. What does that mean? To burn off the sin, right? To burn off the dross. Nothing is as effective in driving people to God as suffering. You understand that? And when you think about dying, you begin to think about the inevitability of judgment.
To test, to purge, to make them white. Until the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed. God gave to Daniel through this angel the most incredible layout of the suffering of the Jews through the reign of the Persians and the reign of the Greeks. And you know who came in after the Greeks?
The Romans. And the Roman period is described by the last, final, great Roman ruler, the Antichrist, the final A in our five kings. But God has ordained it all, the flow, the sequence, the intimate, minute, tiny, little details. Now listen to me.
Don't turn me out now in this last couple of minutes. God is not finished with the purging process. You understand that? Why is it hard for Israel today?
Because the purging is still going on. When the Messiah came the first time, He said to them, you will not come to Me that you might have life. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, He says, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto you, how oft I would have gathered you as a hen gathereth her brood, but you would not. In Romans 10 21, Paul speaking the words of God, all day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and contrary people.
They haven't turned yet. But you want to know something? The suffering is a gracious suffering. You say, why do you say that, John?
Simply for this reason. God has every right to forget them, doesn't He? But He doesn't. God has every right to say, because of your constant harlotries, because of the incessant disobedience, I forever turn my back on you. Because you have known so much, received so much, had so much, yours are the covenants and the promises.
Because you've had it all and you've turned your back on me, I write you off. But He never says that. He continues the purging process until the end time, the time appointed. And that time will come.
And in that latter day in the future, Paul says in Romans 11, all Israel shall be what? Saved. Isn't that great? What a great promise. Yes, it's a time of chastening for them, but be encouraged. Michael's watching over them. And I'm watching over them, says this other angel. And there's going to come a day when Michael stands up for the people of God and a day when the Spirit descends upon them and they're redeemed and receive their kingdom.
But in the meantime, there must be a chastening. Beloved, my word to you in closing is this. I hope you have a heart for the Jewish people. I hope you realize that that remnant is there and that God calls us to reach them. An old missionary hymn put it this way. Shall we whose souls are lighted with wisdom from on high, shall we to souls be knighted, the lamp of life denied? You're listening to Grace to You with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary.
His current series is titled The Future of Israel. Well, friend, thanks for remembering that messages like today's are heard every day on stations like this one because of the partnership of listeners like you. To help us connect people with biblical truth that changes lives, you can express your support when you contact us today. You can mail a tax-deductible gift to Grace to You, Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412.
Or you can call us at 855-GRACE. You can also donate online at gty.org. And thanks again for all that you do to support Verse by Verse teaching, and a special thanks if you're a Grace partner. Again, to help support this life-changing ministry, call 855-GRACE or go to gty.org. And whether or not you're able to make a donation, I encourage you to let us know how you're benefitting from John's Verse by Verse teaching.
If a particular radio study has encouraged you, if perhaps a recent lesson has helped you understand a certain biblical passage, we would love to hear your story. You can send us a note by email when you write to letters at gty.org. That's our email address. One more time, letters at gty.org. And of course, regular mail also works.
You can write to Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412. Now for John MacArthur and our staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day. And be back tomorrow as John shows you how man's rebellion can never thwart God's plan. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Race to You.
