 So, today we're going to look at chapter 11 here in the book of Daniel. I'm going to take you through the first 35 verses, and before we even start recording, let me say this, these verses are a good portion of them. Well, I'll say it like this. I hate to say it, but I'm going to say it. It's a history lesson. Now, some people like history and some don't. Some of us were taught history by gym teachers, and the gym teachers didn't like history. And so we grew up saying, I don't like history. And so just be ready to not like this study. But it's actually a study, and I'm going to, I'm just actually, because I'm not a historian, I'm going to be reading a lot of the information to make sure it's accurate to you. So be ready for that. You may have come expecting a study that I normally do with where there's fewer and things like that, probably, I don't know if there'll be any or not, because this is really a study that takes a lot of concentration to be able to give properly, letting you know in advance. As we move on into right around 29, verse 29, or 30, at that point I'm going to relax a little bit and give you some things that are more natural for me in the way that I teach. That's more natural. I'm just preparing you for this, because this may be your first time here, and you may be saying, I hated history in school. And now I got it in church too. And then I say, yeah, that's right. So just letting you know in advance, hopefully, hopefully we'll get through this together. Okay, beginning at verse one, reading the verse four, Daniel chapter 11. Also in the first year of Darius the Mead, I, even I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia. And the fourth shall be far richer than them all by his strength through his riches. He shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be uprooted even for others besides those. So Daniel is receiving a revelation, a revelation of the future from an angel. And this particular angel has been sent to instruct him. In chapter 10, verse 21, the last verse of chapter 10, we read, I will tell you what is noted in the scripture of truth. No one upholds me against these except Michael your prince. And so in that verse there, the things that he's about to be seen are of great importance. The angel is speaking to him and he says, I was sent to tell what was noted in the scripture of truth. This, in other words, relates to very important future events. By way of introduction, chapter 11 of the book of Daniel is the most argued over chapter in the book of Daniel because of its precision. Liberal scholars and skeptics argue because of its accuracy. They believe that because it is so accurate historically, that it had to be written after the fact. It's too detailed, they say. It's too specific. And so liberal scholars, quote unquote, believe that it was written in the second century before Christ. But on the other hand, conservative Christian scholars recognize it for what it is. It's prophetic. God is a God who is able to give us declarations of the future. And so why wouldn't we who believe in scripture and believe in a God who knows all things, why wouldn't we take it for face value? What it actually is prophetic because our God can tell us those things that are hidden from others. And Isaiah 46 verse 10, the Lord speaks of himself saying, declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, I will do all my pleasure. So God can declare to us even as he says, the end from the beginning. Isaiah 14, 24 says, the Lord of hosts is sworn, surely as I have planned, so will it be as I have purpose, so will it stand. And so this is prophetic. And as we look at it, we'll see that this chapter divides into two sections. The first 35 verses relate to the major rulers that that arise in Persia as well as Greece. And verse 36 to 45 will conclude with the last ruler, the Antichrist, who was in power at the return of Jesus Christ. And so in verse one of chapter 11, that verse begins with the events, starting with Darius the Mede, for those who take notes, that's 539 BC. But it continues until the last Gentile ruler in the end times or the last days. The period from the death of Antiochus to the time of the end is skipped over. There's no mention of the church age, because what we're looking at relates to Israel and not to the church. And so he begins here in verse two, this angel is speaking, and it says in verse two, I will tell you the truth, behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the force shall be far richer than them all by his strength through his riches. He shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. And so this angel had stood in support of Darius the Mede, from the beginning of his rule, you saw that in verse one. So this could speak of the angel aiding the transition from Babylonian rule to Persian rule. Some believe it speaks of encouraging favor to be shown to Israel. You see, in Darius's first year of reign, efforts were made to make him hostile to the Jews. It was at that time that God had sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions in the lion's den. Remember how the opposition had arisen against Daniel, and because he continued his habit of lifelong prayer and he prayed in the manner that he had since youth, they had set him up in order to put him in a lion's den by having the king give a right of command that anyone who made that kind of prayer, except to him, would be killed. And so we saw how there was antagonism towards Daniel at the beginning. And so what has happened is this angel could be saying that he's been there to strengthen Darius and in doing so helped him to be moving towards the reversing his policies against the Jews. And so the Babylonian Empire has passed. The Mede Persian Empire is now being addressed. And the angel says that he's showing him truth. He's sharing with him future events that will occur. And he speaks in verse two about three kings and a fourth that is richer and more powerful. This refers to four Persian kings that followed Darius. And these names, for those who may be of interest of this, are Camusese, Pseudos-Murdice, Darius, and Xerxes. Okay, I saw you writing furiously. I saw that you were interested. But these are the kings that are spoken of. So Daniel points out that the conclusion of Persian rule was to be through Xerxes. Xerxes is the first. Xerxes is found in other portions of scriptures. He's also known by the name of Ahasuerus in the book of Esther. And when you read history and all of that, Ahasuerus led an expedition against Greece in 480 BC. He used his riches over a period of four years to amass a great army of hundreds of thousands. And with that army, he marched against Greece, was defeated and never recovered. So in verses three and four it says, A mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion, do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity, his own ancestors, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be uprooted even for others besides these. And so here's your prophetic element that gets very precise. This is speaking of one called Alexander. Alexander the Great. So what had happened when it says in verse three, A mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion? Well, as he did that, an undying hatred for Persia had been the result of Xerxes, the first attack on the nation of Greece. And so that anger remained for quite some time because over a century later, Alexander the Great arose. And when Alexander arose, he conquered Persia. Verse four tells us, When he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided. We know that Alexander the Great died an untimely death around when he was 33 years old. And his kingdom was divided into four parts. It didn't go to one of his sons. The kingdom was divided between four generals. And it didn't retain its glory, nor did it retain its unity. The four generals in history are Ptolemy, Cassander, Seleucus, and Antigonese, also known as Bob. There you go. Verse five, Also the king of the south shall become strong as well as one of his princes. He shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. So when it speaks here and it speaks of the king of the south, the king of the south also will become plural. Kings of the south relate to Egypt. You see that in verse eight. The king of the north refers to the nation of Syria. And Syria is not identified by name here because it has yet to come into existence under the name Syria. Again, prophetic. The Egyptian king spoken of was Ptolemy the first. One of his princes who gained power over him was someone called Seleucus. Ptolemy and Seleucus combined to defeat Antigonese of Babylon. When this happened, Seleucus controlled the entire area from Asia Asia Minor all the way to India. So over time, Seleucus, who was representing Syria, became more powerful than Ptolemy representing Egypt. It says in verse six. And at the end of some years, they shall join forces for the daughter of the king of the south shall go to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the power of her authority and neither he nor his authority shall stand. But she shall be given up with those who brought her and with him who begot her and with him who strengthened her in those times. So after many years, an alliance was formed between Egypt and Syria. It came through an arranged marriage. Ptolemy the second arranged a marriage for his daughter, Bernice. She married someone named Antiochus, the second of Syria. That required Antiochus to divorce his wife, Laodicea, in order to marry Bernice. What it was was a political union intended to strengthen his power, but it didn't work. She did not retain the power of her authority. Ptolemy died within a few years of their marriage. Antiochus took back his previous wife, Laodicea, and she was so happy she murdered him as well as Bernice and their infant son. That's all historically true and accurate. And so it's verse seven. But from a branch of her roots, one shall arise in his place who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the north and deal with them and prevail. He shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt with their princes and their precious articles of silver and gold. He shall continue more years than the king of the north. Also the king of the north shall come to the kingdom of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land, again giving prophetic insights into the future, which shall take place. It says from a branch of her, from a branch of Bernice's roots, one shall arise in his place. So an Egyptian king ultimately arose named Ptolemy III. He defeated Seleucus, Calaniacus, or Syria, and pillaged his fortress. He took their idols and the various gold and silver treasures and went back to Egypt. So in verse 10, it says, however, his son shall stir up strife and assemble a multitude of great forces. And one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through. Then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife. And the king of the south shall be moved with rage and go out and fight with him with the king of the north who shall muster a great multitude. But the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. When he's taken away, the multitude his heart will be lifted up. He'll cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. For the king of the north will return and muster a multitude greater than the former and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. So again, he's giving us a prophetic insight into what is going to take place. So Lucas Calaniacus was unsuccessful in his campaigns, but his sons were more successful. He had a son, Antiochus III, also called Antiochus the Great, and he campaigned often against Egypt. He retook all the land all the way to Gaza, which is going south in Israel toward the Egyptian border. Notice in verse 11 how it says, the king of the south shall be moved with rage, go out and fight with him with the king of the north who shall muster a great multitude. But the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. So this caused the Egyptian king to rise up in opposition. And what he did is he assembled an army of 70,000 soldiers and completely defeated Antiochus. Antiochus' army was defeated and Antiochus was almost captured. But in verse 12 it says, when he is taken away, the multitude his heart will be lifted up and he'll cast down tens of thousands but will not prevail. So instead of pursuing the army and ultimately destroying it, what they did is they brokered a peace treaty. Verse 13, the king of the north will return and muster a multitude greater than the former and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. And when those times many shall rise up against the king of the south, also violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come and build a siege mound, take a fortified city, and the forces of the south shall not withstand him. Even his choice troop shall have no strength to resist. But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his power. And so Antiochus turned his attention elsewhere and he began to conquer the lands east of Syria. In 201 BC he once again came against Egypt. Verse 14 tells us in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south. And he speaks in this way, notice verse 14, also violent men of your people, violent men of your people. These are Jews who entered into an agreement with Antiochus the great. So in fulfillment of the vision, speaking of prophecies, he's speaking of prophecies and the afflictions that the Jews will go through. We saw some of this in chapters eight and chapter nine. So he's alluding to something he's already said. Notice verse 15, the Egyptian armies were defeated and they forced to capitulate at a place called Sidon. And so the surrender resulted in Syrian occupation of Israel, always out to Gaza. In verse 17, he shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom and upright ones with him, thus shall he do. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or be for him. And so when it says he shall set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, well what is happening is at this time in history, Rome had become a great power. The Syrian king Antiochus brokered a marriage between his daughter, a woman some of us have heard of, a woman by the name of Cleopatra. Now I saw her movie, but Cleopatra for the longest time, I didn't realize that was an actual historic woman. I had for a long time, I thought that was just a name that was made up, but that's not true. The Syrian king Antiochus had a daughter and she's named Cleopatra. And she got married to a guy named Ptolemy Epiphanes. Ptolemy Epiphanes at that time was seven years old. And the reason they brokered a marriage is her father thought that Cleopatra would be faithful to him as his daughter, but in fact she never was. She didn't side with him. She never stood with him, is what it's saying here. She never did. She never is in verse 17, it says, he shall give him the daughter of women. This is Cleopatra to destroy it. He was hoping that she would side with him in order that he be able to overcome, but she shall not stand with him or be for him. And that's exactly what happened in history. She never did side with him. So verse 18, after this he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall take many, but a ruler shall bring the reproach against him to an end. And with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and not be found. So ultimately Antiochus the Great began a series of military defeats. He attacked Greece and was defeated at Thermopylae and he, he attacked Magnesia. He ultimately in verse 19 died while trying to plunder a temple in his own land. And so verse 20, there shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom, his name is Biden, but within, Biden the second, but I'm sorry, but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. So there shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom. The glorious kingdom is another way of speaking of Israel. So he's going to impose taxes on Israel. Seleucus the Fourth. In order to pay tribute to Rome, he sent a tax collector to Israel that that tax collector might plunder the temple of Israel as filled with golden objects. But soon after he did this, he died a mysterious death, possibly poisoned by the tax collector. Now in verse 21, in his place shall arise a vile person to whom they will not give the honor of royalty. He shall come in peaceably, come in peaceably, seize the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood, they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the Prince of the Covenant. And after the league is made with him, he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. And so this introduces us to the most evil king, to Syria's most evil king, Antiochus the Fourth, Epiphanes. This is an important figure and we'll spend a few minutes looking at this. And basically what he did is he stole the throne from the rightful heir. After seizing the throne, Antiochus began to strengthen his power through military means. He ultimately defeated Egypt and he began to occupy Israel. Notice verse 22, how it says, with the force of a flood, they shall be swept away from before him. That speaks of various military campaigns that he had victories in. But notice also in verse 22, he speaks of the Prince of the Covenant. The Prince of the Covenant is referring to the high priest, a man by the name of Onias. And Onias the High Priest was murdered upon Antiochus Epiphanes command. In verse 23, it says, after the league is made with him, he shall act deceitfully. And what he did is he developed treaties with various powers to strengthen his political position. Verse 24 tells us that he shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province. And he shall do what his fathers have not done nor his forefathers. He shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil and riches. He shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. So he shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province. What he did is he campaigned against other nations, expanding constantly. He used the tactic of a sneak attack, and that way he was able to surprise his enemies. And the plunder they had got was used to secure allies and buy friends. In verses 25 and 26, he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south, against Egypt, with the great army. And the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but he shall not stand for they shall devise plans against him. Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. And so he fought against anti-defeated Egypt, is the point that he's making here. In verse 27, both these kings' hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table, but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant, so he shall do damage and return to his own land. So the Syrians and the Egyptians lied to each other so much that they couldn't even eat dinner together, is what he's saying. Even at the dinner table, they would lie. Neither was honorable in their agreements historically. And so what happens, verse 28 says that Antiochus returns to Syria, but when he did that, he went through Israel. And that is where Antiochus manifested his hatred for the nation of Israel. And we'll see this, and I'm going to develop this with you in just a moment. In verse 29, at the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter, for the ships from Cyprus shall come against him, therefore he shall be grieved and return in rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant, and forces shall be mustered by him. They shall defile the sanctuary fortress, then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. So on a campaign against Egypt, Antiochus was successful, but not like in the past. There was a Roman, a Roman consul by the name of Linus, and he intercepted him near Alexandria, Egypt. And when, when he was intercepted by this Roman consul, he was ordered to immediately leave Egypt. And if he did not immediately leave Egypt, he was going to be attacked by Rome. It's reported that this Roman consul Linus drew a circle around him, and he said, you must make a decision before you leave that circle. So Antiochus did not want to to risk a war with Rome. And as a result of that, he left, but he left in a rage. Notice verse 30, it says, he shall be grieved in returning rage against the holy covenant. What he did is he vented his anger on Israel. And he began in verse 30 to show regard for those who forsook the holy covenant. What he did as he entered in is he began to show favor to the Jews who would side with him. And what he was doing is he was attempting to make the Jews into Greeks. And I shared this with you already before, but remember I shared that he had brought in the Greek culture, the Greek language as well as the Greek religion, and he began to bring that into the nation of Israel. When he brought in the Greek culture and the Greek language, not to mention the religion, what he was intending to do was to Hellenize or Grecianize the Jewish people. He wanted to take the Jews who were the covenant people of God and transform them into people who were anti-God. He wanted to transform them into Greeks who did not have the same values and the same God of the nation of Israel. And so he was trying to do that. And that's done to this day. They do it through education. It's done through language. It's done through religion. And to this day, the same tactics are taking place. Same tactics to take people and to make them into something that they are not. And what happened is the unbelieving Jews began to follow his commands and they began to forsake the Jewish faith. They built altars in groves. They sacrificed pigs' flesh. They stopped circumcising their sons and they pursued immoral lives and they forgot the word of God. That was taking place under Antiochus. It says in verse 31, forces shall be mustered by him and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress. So when he came against Jerusalem, what he did is he began a massacre and he began to take all the valuables. When he found a mother who had circumcised her son, he would kill the baby and tied its body around the mother's neck. He then marched her through the middle of the town and threw her over a cliff that she might be crushed to death. He polluted the altar by sacrificing a pig, a sow, on the altar. He put a stop to the daily sacrifices. He caused the Jews to cease their daily worship. He placed in the temple an idol, an image of Zeus Olympus, which is an abomination. He called himself by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. The word Epiphany speaks of a glorious manifestation. He declared himself to be a God is what he did. There he is in Israel. Now this is a prophetic word concerning what will later happen with the Antichrist. This is a picture and we'll see this when we conclude this chapter next time we're together. But this is a prophetic picture of the Antichrist. We saw in Daniel 8, 23, and 24 that in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features who understand sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. He shall destroy fearfully and shall prosper and thrive. He shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. So that's a pre-figurement of what is going to take place when Antichrist comes upon the scene. Now Jesus refers to this, this abomination. Notice in verse 31, it says again, it says, forces shall be mustered by him, they shall defile the sanctuary fortress, then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24, 15. He said, when therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel, the prophet, standing in the holy place, and then they went on to say, Matthew went on to say, let the reader understand the abomination of desolation. What he did, what Antiochus Epiphanes did, was a pre-figurement of what will take place in the latter times when the Antichrist does something very similar. So let me share with you a couple of things here that relate to this. After the rapture of the church, now we're going to fast forward into our days. In the prophetic calendar, the next prophecy that is to be fulfilled is the rapture. That's the next prophecy. There are no other prophecies that need to be fulfilled before that one takes place. So the next prophecy to be fulfilled in Scripture is going to be the rapture of the church. Now, prior to the rapture of the church, evil men will wax more and more. There'll be more and more evil men. There'll be more and more false teaching. And so when Jesus was spoken to and was asked concerning, what would the sign of his coming be? When will these things be? Because in Matthew 24, Jesus had said that not one of the stones of the temple is going to remain, but it's all going to be torn down. And because it was such a wonderful temple, such a beautiful building, it had been a constant construction for 46 years. And his men had drawn his attention to this temple. And how beautiful it is. You think this is beautiful? Indeed, physically, it was a beautiful building that was something that was just gorgeous in its day. But Jesus said, every rock, every stone is going to be torn down. And when he said that, his men, hearing that, couldn't let that get out of their mind. And so they began to speak to him, when are these things going to be? It's the sign of your coming. And you already know this, but I'll present it to you quickly. What is the sign of your coming? You know, when we do last day's studies very often, we speak concerning what are called the signs of the times. And that's all valid. And that's all a right thing to do. We speak about what Jesus said. And he speaks concerning a variety of things. You know, there's wars, there's rumors of wars, there's pestilence, and you know, things of that nature. And we see that in Matthew 24, verses one through eight, there are quite a number of things that he outlines and shares related to that. But as I've mentioned to you many times, I'll mention it again right now. Jesus was asked concerning the sign, not the signs. Very often, we hear of signs of the times. And you can make a case for that phrase, of course. But the question was, what is the sign? It wasn't what are the signs. And so Jesus gave various things that would be taking place. But in answer to the question, what is the sign? His answer is very simple, take heed that no one deceives you. And that is repeated three times. Walter Martin says four times in the 24th chapter of Matthew. Deception. What is the number one sign of the last days? What is the sign that everything's about to be consummated? What is the sign? The answer, if you take notes, if you don't already know that, deception. Paul said that people in the last days are going to heap into themselves teachers having itching ears and are going to voluntarily turn aside from the truth and be turned voluntarily to fables. There will be many false prophets that are going to arise. And it's not just during the seven-year period called the tribulation. False prophets are already on the rise. There are already antichrists during the time of John when he wrote 1 John. He said there are already many antichrists. The spirit of antichrists is already here. And so in the end days, what they're going to be is a proliferation of false doctrine. So when Jesus is asked what is going to take place, he says, take heed that no one deceives you. And he repeats himself more than once in chapter 24. The primary sign of the last days is spiritual deception, doctrines of demons. And what is the doctrine of demon is simply a doctrine or teaching inspired by demons, a demonic doctrine. What is the number one demonic doctrine? That Jesus Christ is not God in the flesh and you don't need Jesus to go to heaven. That's the number one demonic lie. You don't need Jesus. Just be a good person. You don't need Jesus. Just practice your own faith with sincerity. That is the number one lie. And we Christians are saying, no, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by him. We are the bigots, right? We are the haters. And indeed we do hate. We hate sin and we hate what sin does. So yeah, we are haters. We hate the idea of people dying and going to hell. So yes, we are haters, but we hate the things that God hates. And that's the important thing is that we hate the things that God hates. False doctrine is going to permeate. And that's going to be during the last days. After the rapture, false prophets are going to continue to abound and they're going to be the ones who promote the antichrist. So after the rapture, at that time, the man of sin is going to be revealed, the son of perdition, the antichrist. He's going to be accepted because the world will be prepared for him by the false prophets. And as we've seen this before already, he begins in a non-threatening way. He develops a loyal following. It is at that time that he's going to be signing a covenant with the nation of Israel. We saw this in chapter 9 of Daniel verse 27. He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, the three and a half years, this is a seven-year period, in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. So he's going to have a covenant that he confirms. The covenant, as I've mentioned to you, most likely will include the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. When you go to Israel, you will go to a place that they, you know, it's called the Temple Institute. They already have trained rabbis. They have trained rabbis. They have put together the utensils. They're ready to dedicate a temple and to have actual sacrifice. We actually go into the places and you can see the robes that the high priest is going to wear. You can see them, they have them. It's all prepared right now. And so they're just waiting for their opportunity. But how are they going to be able to do that? How are they going to be able to rebuild the temple that has been unoccupied for all these years since 70 AD? How's that going to happen? Well, the Antichrist is going to establish a covenant. There's going to be an agreement with Antichrist and Israel and Israel is going to be able to rebuild their temple and once again re-establish the various sacrifices. But in the middle of the week and in the third and a half year of the tribulation, he's going to break that covenant. He'll demand worship in the temple. He declares himself to be God. In 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 4, it says he'll oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God or his worship so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. The abomination of desolation. Antichrist declares himself God. And that precipitates the three and a half years of great tribulation. Daniel 725 says he'll speak against the most high, press his saints, try to change the time, the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time for three and a half years. And so this is a pre-figurement. This is a picture, the Antichrist epiphanies a picture of the final Antichrist who is to come. And we'll be looking at that in detail. I'm just giving you a taste of that next week when we get together. I'll be sharing several things with you about that. And so there the abomination it says he will place there the abomination desolation. In his day they set up an image of Greek God in the last day. Antichrist will present himself as God. And then finally verse 32, 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 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 of understanding shall fall to refine them, purify them, make them white until the time of the end because it is still for the appointed time. He shall corrupt those, notice verse 32, those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery. This is interesting and I can't go into great detail about this other than to say some believe that those who sided with Antiochus who became Grecianized who were Jewish actually were the root of the what during the time of Christ came to be known as the Sadducees because the Sadducees during Jesus' time were Jewish people who had been captured by Greek philosophy. And so there are Bible teachers who believe that this may be in reference to the group called the Sadducees who ultimately rose up and were Grecianized. They didn't believe in resurrection, they didn't believe in angels or spirits or anything like that because the Sadducees had been influenced by the Greeks. Well in verse 32 it says 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. When Antiochus did these things the faithful Jews united against him. They rejected his commands, they rebelled against him, they were actually willing to die for their faith. This became a time of purging and may have been a time when the Pharisees originated. The Pharisees were those who are the word Pharisee are the separated ones. They were the ones who held fast to traditions and didn't give in to the influence of Antiochus. It's interesting if you do if you do a little reading about Pharisees during the time of Christ and just preceding him. In many ways they really were heroic preservers of the faith and when Jesus spoke against the Pharisees he's speaking against many of them who had made their traditions above the commands of God. But during the time they were they were trying to preserve the faith and what can happen sometimes as you go so far that you become legalistic. In verse 33 and 34 it says those of the people who understand shall instruct men many. There was a time of refining of faith. Many of the Jews during this time held fast until their death. The Maccabees rose at that time and fought in order to try and keep Israel from becoming totally pagan. In verse 35 it says some of those of understanding shall fall to refine them, purify them, make them white until the time of the end because it is still for the appointed time. So Antiochus attempted to destroy their faith but the persecution purified it. Let me close with a couple of thoughts. It's been said and this is true that the persecution is used by the Lord to purify us. I believe very strongly that what I have seen in the last months related to the COVID lockdowns and the various things is the church. At first what we've attempted to do as we should is we've attempted to do the very best that we can to work with any whatever requirements are to keep people safe and that's what we've done. We still do that of course we do. But at the same time there has been a refining of our faith to the point where we've said we've done as much as we can and we want to be the best citizens that we can at a certain point it is better to obey God rather than men. And so we have come to realize that I think and there has been a purging in the church. There's no doubt, no doubt that there have been people who are really not committed and I don't say this in judgment with their hearts but the fact would be not committed at all and thus the requirements to to no longer meet was not something that they soured over. It didn't matter that much to them and then quite a number of people have decided to stay in home and all is a lot more fun than going to church and all of that. We've seen that and I think that in many churches there has been a refining of people's faith. You've had to make decisions will I or will I not be there? Will I or will I not assemble? Will I or will I not place God's commands above those things that I'm being told by man? And you have to make those determinations based on your conscience and those things that are acceptable to him and I'm certainly not your conscience nor am I to tell you what to do but I know myself I would rather obey God than man. And so I gather with you to teach you the word of God because that's what I'm commanded to do and one of the elements amen and one of the and one of the elements that we have in in in Christianity that is so important that people forget is the fact that the the church that ecclesia that's the way it is in the Greek is the called out ones. We are called out of the world but we're intended to be a community of like-minded believers. See we're called out but we're called out to be together and so one of the things that the that the enemy does is he tries to disperse and he does that sometimes here in this passage there he did it through persecution and pain but the result of that was purging. In Isaiah 48 verse 10 I have refined you but not as silver I have tested you in the furnace of affliction and that's what took place when Antiochus epiphanies began to move against the Jews. Now this occurs until the time of the end. This is still for the appointed time. In other words these terrible things are simply a foreshadowing of what will occur in these last days and next week when we gather we're going to see precisely what that is when we pick up at verse 40 and we'll close here at verse 39.