Welcome to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. On today's broadcast, the Truth Train takes us to the end of our study in Daniel and into the 12th and final chapter of this ancient book written during the exile of Israel in Babylon. In this chapter, Michael, God's Prince Angel, shows the prophet a high definition view of the final days in Jerusalem and the events that will unfold shortly before the return of Jesus.
This is one of the most prophetic chapters in all of Scripture, leading to our companion study into the book of Revelation and the glorious visions Jesus gives the Apostle John. Please travel with us on the Truth Train as Dr. Cheryl Davis takes us into this compelling study. Here's Dr. Davis, the end in sight.
Hello, I'm Dr. Cheryl Davis. In past chapters, we have covered Antiochus Epiphanes and how brutal he was to the Jews. Let's move on to verses 29 through 35. At the appointed time, he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus shall come against him, therefore he shall be grieved and return in rage against the Holy Covenant and do damage. This is Antiochus Epiphanes being routed back who will return in rage against the Holy Covenant, this being the Jews, and do damage to them. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the Holy Covenant, and forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary forces, and then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the Covenant he shall corrupt with flattery, but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits, and those of the people who understand shall instruct many. Yet for many days they shall fall by this ward and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help, but many shall join with them by intrigue, and some of those who understanding shall fall to refine them, purify them, and make them white until the time of the end, because it is still for the appointed time.
This speaks of the time frame in history of the Maccabees revolt. This was fulfilled in the time of the Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean revolt, but it is still fully fulfilled in the future, as the language is parallel of the abomination of desolation of Antiochus Epiphanes when he slayed the pig over the altar, but in the future when the Antichrist sets up himself in the tabernacle and places himself as God. And we move much more into the Antichrist in verses 36-39. Then the king shall do according to his own will. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god. He shall speak blasphemies against the god of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished, for what has been determined shall be done.
He shall neither regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses, and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge and advance its glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many and divide the land for gain. Moving on to verses 40-45, we'll round out the chapter which a large part of these verses talks about, the future battle of Armageddon.
And I know sometimes this is difficult to understand and difficult to see into the future, but if we follow through these verses we'll understand the battle. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape from his hand, Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt.
Also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him, therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents in his place between the seas and the glorious holy mountain.
Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. This really covers the Antichrist and the battle of Armageddon, which the location will be on the mountain of the plain of Megiddo, which is in northern Israel. The purpose for it is the tribulation, which we know is the time of Jacob's trouble to judge the Jewish people for their rebellion.
And also that the nations can be judged for their persecution of Israel. In Revelation 16, 9, it says that there is a time of intense heat. And the handwriting on the wall, it says, First there will be a ten-nation confederacy under the leadership of the Antichrist.
We have already studied that the Antichrist will be a vital force to bring together all the European powers into a coalition of government. Daniel was given another description of his infamous character, in which we just read in verses 37 through 39. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers and for the one desired by men or by women. Nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses. A god unknown to his fathers, he will honor with gold and silver. With precious stones and costly gifts, he 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. When the Antichrist heads up the nations of the revived Roman Empire, many people wonder where America will be in all this. We have come from nations that originally belonged to the Roman Empire. Our customs and laws come from that of a European background, from nations that emerged out of the Roman Empire. Daniel speaks of these nations as the ten horns and ten toes that we brought together under the power and the authority of the beast.
Even though we are not one of the ten by virtue of the fact that we did not emerge directly out of the old Roman Empire, we may be one of the ten by virtue of our heritage. The United States may well cast her lot with Europe and come into this confederation of nations and become part of the Confederacy that would be drawn into the conflict and would be judged by the Lord at his second coming. It is interesting to note that this former confederation of former Roman Empire nations includes most of all of the nominal Christian nations. Three major players will be the kings of the east, like China, Japan, other countries in Asia.
Major players is the second king, the king of the north, Syria, Turkey, Russia. In verses 40 through 44, it is really setting up the battle of the Armageddon. To really cover the timeline of the Antichrist, he comes to power by making a covenant with Israel. Shortly after the rapture, he forms a ten-nation confederacy, making that covenant.
And in the first three and a half years, it is peace, peace. Israel lets their guard down, but in the middle, he breaks his peace treaty with Israel, and the great tribulation is the last three and a half years of the tribulation. If you go back to Daniel 11, verse 44, it says, But news from the east and the north shall trouble him, therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
We know in the east are the armies where the Lord dried up the Euphrates and will allow 200 million soldiers to march across. This event is discussed in Revelation 19, 11 through 6. Now I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except for himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed with fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron.
He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, when he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And this is how we will see Jesus in his second coming to ultimately defeat Satan. As we have reviewed chapter 11, we know that this is a large part of ancient history, but also as it ends in the last few verses from 36 to 45, it talks about the future history of the tribulation, the Antichrist, and the Battle of Armageddon. I know this is sometimes hard to wrap ourselves around as far as in our minds as to what this will look like in the future, but it is one important event for us to know is that now is the time to believe, to be part of the church, to leave in the rapture before the tribulation.
Because in Revelation it tells the Church of Philadelphia, keep you from the hour of trouble that will come to judge the nation, therefore make sure that we have a fervent relationship with God so that we're leaving in the rapture. Let's move on to verses 29 through 35. At the appointed time, he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus shall come against him, therefore he shall be grieved and return in rage against the Holy Covenant and do damage. This is Antiochus Epiphanes being routed back, who will return in rage against the Holy Covenant, this being the Jews, and do damage to them. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the Holy Covenant, and forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary forces, and then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the Covenant he shall corrupt with flattery, but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits, and those of the people who understand shall instruct many. Yet for many days they shall fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help, but many shall join with them by intrigue. And some of those who understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end, because it is still for the appointed time.
This speaks of the time frame in history of the Maccabees Revolt. This was fulfilled in the time of the Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt, but will be fulfilled in the future, as the language is parallel of the abomination of desolation of Antiochus Epiphanes when he slayed the pig over the altar, but in the future when the Antichrist sets up himself in the tabernacle and places himself as God. And we move much more into the Antichrist in verses 36-39. Then the king shall do according to his own will. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god. He shall speak blasphemies against the god of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished, for what has been determined shall be done.
He shall neither regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses, and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge and advance its glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. Moving on to verses 40-45, we'll round out the chapter, which a large part of these verses talks about, the future battle of Armageddon.
And I know sometimes this is difficult to understand and difficult to see into the future, but if we follow through these verses we'll understand the battle. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships, and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape from his hand, Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. Also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many, and he shall plant the tents in his place between the seas and the glorious holy mountain.
Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. This really covers the antichrist and the battle of Armageddon, which the location will be on the mountain of the plain of Megiddo, which is in northern Israel. The purpose for it is the tribulation, which we know is the time of Jacob's trouble to judge the Jewish people for their rebellion, but also that the nations can be judged for their persecution of Israel. In Revelation 16, 9, it says that there is a time of intense heat. In the handwriting on the wall, it says, first there will be a ten-nation confederacy under the leadership of the antichrist.
We have already studied that the antichrist will be a vital force to bring together all the European powers into a coalition of government. Daniel was given another description of his infamous character, in which we just read in verses 37 through 39. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers and for the one desired by men or by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver. With precious stones and costly gifts, he 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. When the antichrist heads up the nations of the revived Roman Empire, many people wonder where America will be in all this. We have come from nations that originally belonged to the Roman Empire. Our customs and laws come from that of a European background, from nations that emerged out of the Roman Empire. Daniel speaks of these nations as the ten horns and ten toes that we brought together under the power and the authority of the beast. Even though we are not one of the ten by virtue of the fact that we did not emerge directly out of the old Roman Empire, we may be one of the ten by virtue of our heritage. The United States may well cast her lot with Europe and come into this confederation of nations and become part of the confederacy that will be drawn into the conflict and will be judged by the Lord at his second coming.
It is interesting to note that this confederation of former Roman Empire nations includes most of all of the nominal Christian nations. As we see such things happening in the world today, leading us ever closer to what the Bible identifies as the time of Jacob's trouble, we as believers can be assured of God's watchful eye and providential care over his people during this time and the time to come. This has been Truth Matters with medical doctor Cheryl Davis inviting you to join us for our next lesson as we exit the book of Daniel and begin a new companion study in the book of the apocalypse when God destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to everlasting life. You can contact Truth Matters by email at CherylDavis at TruthMatters.com or connect with her on Facebook at Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis is a ministry of The Truth Project.
