DANIEL 11 THE TIME OF THE END
We have come to the closing section of the prophecy of Daniel. He had faithfully recorded the visions he had seen and the interpretation of many strange symbols. But now they give way to a straightforward narrative from the lips of the angel who had given him the meaning of the struggle being waged between good and evil, both in heaven and on earth. Symbols and pictures are valuable in God’s communication with us, but nothing can take the place of the direct word from the Lord - and we have it here in the Scriptures. We see first of all:
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE KINGS OF THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH
The prophecy begins by recalling the conflict between the Persian empire and the emerging kingdom of Greece, the ram and the goat of chapter 8. It goes on to trace the history of the Grecian empire after it split into the dominant region of Syria and Palestine, referred to by Daniel as "the king of the North", and that of Egypt, "the king of the South". Daniel gives a detailed account of their alliances, intrigues and wars, often invading the land of Israel, referred to as "the Beautiful Land", in the process. It was a difficult time for God’s people.
If we accept the view that these are Daniel’s words, spoken in the sixth century, and not some late addition to the text, what we have here is a fairly detailed account of history before it took place. This has made people wonder, if history is foreknown by God, are human beings free to decide as to their actions? Are we only marionettes automatically controlled to produce a predetermined stage play? But this isn’t the case, because God has given mankind a large measure of freedom of choice. It’s recorded that the king of the South did "as he pleases" (11:16, 36).
The whole story of the Old Testament is that, although God controls history, he does so in such a way as to give free play to human decision and where necessary, opportunity for genuine repentance. He makes room for his own answers to prayers for help and deliverance to those who call upon him. We know that God is working his purposes out, even through the wrath of man. The crucifixion of Jesus is the best example of God’s sovereignty while at the same time leaving room for free human decision and responsibility for action.
The references to "the king of the North" and "the king of the South" are used as general expressions and are not restricted to the first rulers of Syria and Egypt. In fact it stretches over two centuries, giving an account of their repeated conflicts, often subjecting the people of Israel to great hardship. This is especially so at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, described as "a contemptible person" (21). This "king of the North" came to power by intrigue and treachery, and continued his reign as he began. He had several campaigns against Egypt but failed to win a decisive victory and had to withdraw. It seems he then turned his fury upon the Jews, and in particular, "against the holy covenant" (29, 30).
Antiochus made an alliance with the apostate among the Jews and fiercely persecuted those who dared to keep God’s covenant, desecrating the temple and altar. In arrogant blasphemy he had his statue erected in the temple, and required all his subjects to follow his heathen religion. He went as far as sacrificing a pig, an unclean animal, on the altar of burn offerings. It was this sacrilege which gave rise to the Maccabean uprising. The Jews referred to these acts as “the abomidation that causes the desolation” since it polluted their altar and made sacrifice to Jehovah impossible. Jesus predicted that another similar atrocity would befall the Jews in the near future (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14) quoting Daniel’s words.
Even in this dark age in the history of Israel when there was no prophetic voice, there was a faithful remnant, "the people who know their God will firmly resist" (32). This minority remained steadfast and refused to renounce their God, even though it resulted in many a martyrdom. History has repeated itself many times over the years, and will do so increasingly as the end of the age draws near. The amazingly detailed prophecies of this chapter, fulfilled in part or whole, reminded the readers down the centuries that the final prophecies would be the outworking of God under his divine control even though they would involve suffering for the people of God.
The writer to the Hebrews refers to unnamed heroes of faith who endured terrible privation and cruelty, of whom "the world was not worthy" (11:38). Tribulation and persecution have always been a divine means of testing reality of faith and of purging away the dross. Trials and difficulties are sometimes permitted by the Lord for the express purpose of proving and purifying a believer’s faith. The Apostle Paul could have chosen an easy life when he was saved on the Damascus road. He could have settled down to a comfortable life as a Christian businessman in Antioch. But he didn’t do that (2 Corinthians 11:23-31). He went out to serve God and endured hardship. He suffered many beatings; he was stoned, suffered shipwreck and faced many dangers in his service for God. He was determined that he would not offer Christ any service that cost him nothing.
The Moravian Brethren, 200 years ago, formed one of the greatest missionary movements. Two of their members heard of a leper colony in Africa where no missionary was allowed to enter and then return home for fear that the disease might spread in Germany. They volunteered to go into that leper colony for the remainder of their life in order to present Christ there. How much has it cost us to serve Christ - in terms of loss of money, comfort, reputation and health? If our Christianity has not cost us everything that this world counts dear, we really do not know the meaning of serving God. The Lord is calling people today who will follow him in the pathway of the Cross - being emptied of everything.
It’s only by fire that gold is refined and purified, and in the same way, character is perfected. But all such testings are only for a limited period. The trouble is that so many give up soon after a professed conversion. The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers - the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called ’nominal Christianity’.
Daniel put it so well: "Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will come at the appointed time" (35). The wickedness perpetrated at this time continued for three years until deliverance came through the Maccabees. Eventually they recovered Jerusalem, repaired and rededicated the temple amid scenes of great rejoicing. The respite provided by the revolt of the Maccabees was only a temporary one, but it served its purpose in preparation for the coming of the Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah. At this point in the prophecy the emphasis turns to:
THE TIME OF THE END
In the previous chapters, Daniel’s prophecies were rooted in his own time and then moved out into the future. This final word is no exception. The actions of Antiochus were a preview of what was to befall the Jews when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman general Titus. The book of Revelation predicts the coming of a “beast” who will behave as Antiochus did, only on a larger scale (Rev 13). His activities foreshadow the ultimate blasphemous persecution of the Christian Church in the last days.
The wickedness of Antiochus for those who lived in the second century before Christ was virtually what Daniel referred to as "the time of the end" (35), but it wasn’t the ultimate "time of the end". This evil man who so persecuted the Jews who remained faithful to God before the first advent of Christ may be regarded as typical of the Antichrist who will persecute the Church before the second advent of our Lord. The time of Antiochus was the stepping stone for spanning the centuries to the time of the final "Antiochus", the Antichrist.
The end of chapter 11 is taken up with the account of another king who sets himself up "against the God of gods" (36). This person "will be successful ... show no regard for any god, but will exalt himself ... he will honour a god unknown ... attack the mightiest fortresses ... greatly honour those who acknowledge him" (36-45). The prophecy against Antiochus tells how he will exalt himself above every god and blaspheme the true God. He will prosper for a limited period of time, placing his confidence in military might and will be initially victorious in battle. He will establish his headquarters in “the beautiful holy mountain”, that is Jerusalem, but will finally be defeated on Christ’s return in glory. Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote of a mysterious person, whom he termed "the man of sin", declaring that he "opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God" (I Thess 2:4).
The prophecy then describes the end-time battle between the king of the South and the king of the North. Once again the "Beautiful Land" is invaded, with the army of the king of the North sweeping down into North Africa (40-45). As there is no historical account of such a war the case for believing this to be a foretelling of the end-time is strengthened. Other Old Testament prophets refer to a great expedition of the anti-God nations against the holy people, centered in the Holy Land and especially against Jerusalem. The predicted wicked ruler would prosper for a time until God’s indignation had run its course. But, we are reassured evil will not be allowed to triumph: "Yet he will come to his end, and no-one will help him" (45). God will finally rescue his people and annihilate their opponents.
What did Daniel make of these predictions of great turmoil in the history of the human race? The forces of evil would be ever increasing in strength and appear to be invincible. He wasn’t left without hope! God was still in control of the situation and the faithful remnant and would stand by them in the struggle of evil against the righteous - “the people who know their God” (32). How can we do this? It’s by having a daily experience of his presence. If you live in the same house with another person you get to know them. We must learn to live with God! As Jesus told his disciples: “abide in me” (John 15:4). If we do this, as Daniel said, we will be enabled to be “strong”.
I read of a remarkable story of God’s providential care. Police in Nepal saved the lives of Christians by arresting them! A musical team from an Indian church travelled to Tikapur, Nepal, to attend a church conference. Hours before they were scheduled to return to India, police arrested the team leader and confiscated their van. Several officers then used the van for a personal trip to a town 150 miles away.
Robbers attacked the van as it travelled through a forest. They had expected the van to be full of Christians and were planning to kill them and take their equipment, but police jumped out of the van and shot at the robbers, forcing them to flee. "Praise be to God who saved our lives," said the leader. When he told the Tikapur police chief that God used his arrest to protect the Christians, the chief agreed that the team was blessed and decided to release them. The pastor was then able to witness to the police chief and other officers at the station and pray with them. God moves in mysterious ways.
Christ is our sufficiency; there can be no life apart from him. He is our contemporary just as he was for Daniel. When circumstances are against us or God visits the ungodly world in judgement, Jesus is our hiding place.
In the words of the hymn:
“In heavenly love abiding, no change my heart shall fear;
and safe is such confiding, for nothing changes here;
the storm may roar without me, my heart may low be laid;
but God is round about me, and can I be dismayed?”
Jesus is the same today as he was in the past, and will be in the future.
