{"id":18405,"date":"2017-07-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-030-an-antichrist-prefigurement\/"},"modified":"2017-07-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T05:00:00","slug":"daniel-030-an-antichrist-prefigurement","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-030-an-antichrist-prefigurement\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 030: An Antichrist Prefigurement"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18405","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-daniel","series_event-daniel","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Daniel 030: An Antichrist Prefigurement","sermon_date":"20170723","sermon_month":"7","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":4803,"sermon_slides":4804,"sermon_mp3":4809,"sermon_id":"723171017565","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"8:23-27","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nAn Antichrist Prefigurement\n\n7-23-27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 8:23-27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 30\n\nGood morning everyone.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles if we could take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 8 and beginning at verse 23, today verses 23-27.\u00a0 The title of our message An Antichrist Prefigurement.\u00a0 Most people are aware of the fact that the Bible teaches something about this coming antichrist.\u00a0 The Bible reveals a great deal of information about him and one of the things I really appreciate about the Bible, and we\u2019re seeing this in our study in the Book of Daniel, is God has already given us eras of history where antichrists have arisen.\u00a0 They become sort of a pattern, if you will, in miniature form, a dress rehearsal if you will, for the coming act that is yet to come.\n\nAnd we see that very clearly as Daniel here in chapter 8 has given us, back in the 6th<\/sup> century many prophecies about Persia which overthrew Babylon, and then Persia was overthrown by Greece under Alexander the Great.\u00a0 Alexander the Great passes off the scene, his empire is divided amongst his four generals and as we continue to move through these prophecies we see Daniel focusing like a laser beam on one man in particular, a man coming from the dynasty of the General Seleucus, one of Alexander\u2019s generals that governed Syria and the land of Israel.\u00a0 This man would come on the scene long after Daniel was dead, 400 years later, a man named Antiochus Epiphanes.\u00a0 And Daniel, in his prophecies, gives us so many details about this man before he even came to power. Why?\u00a0 Because his life served as a prototype of the coming antichrist.\n\nTake a look, if you will, at verses 23-25.\u00a0 We have the activities of Antiochus Epiphanes revealed foreshadowing something yet more serious in the future of the human race.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, verse 23, \u201cIn the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, <\/em>a king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue.\u201d\u00a0 As we have carefully studied this man that is being revealed here by Daniel is not the<\/u> antichrist, he is a<\/u> antichrist.\u00a0 But he becomes very pivotal because his life, his activities, his persecution of the Jewish people, from about 170 B.C. to around 165-164 B.C. roughly, furnishes history in advance, a type, a prefigurement, a dress rehearsal if you will, of what the coming antichrist will be like.\n\nNotice, first of all verse 23, it says, this prophecy concerns \u201cthe latter period\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0A lot of people look at that word, \u201clatter period\u201d and they think well, that\u2019s talking about the end and in context it\u2019s not talking about the end, it\u2019s talking about the end of Greece because in verses 20-21 we saw very clearly that these prophecies that Daniel is seeing concern the ram, which is Persia, and the goat which is Greece.\u00a0 [Daniel 8:20-21, \u201cThe ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.\u00a0 [21] \u201cThe shaggy goat represents<\/em> the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.\u201d]\n\nThe end here is not the end of everything, it\u2019s the end of the reign of Greece.\u00a0 When you go back to verse 17 it talks about \u201cthe time of the end,\u201d at the end of verse 17.\u00a0 [Verse 17, \u201cSo he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, \u201cSon of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.\u201d]\u00a0 At the end of verse 19, \u201cthe time of the end.\u201d\u00a0 [Verse 19, \u201cHe said, \u2018Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it<\/em> pertains to the appointed time of the end.\u2019\u201d]\n\nNot every \u201cend\u201d is the end of everything.\u00a0 When we say the basketball game ended I wasn\u2019t saying that the last basketball game that will ever be played in the history of the human race; just watch ESPN to prove that, right, one game after another.\u00a0 This is the end specifically of a particular time period that is in Daniel\u2019s purview in this chapter.\n\nAnd he makes this statement here in verse 23 as the Holy Spirit is guiding, \u201cWhen the transgressors have run their course,<\/em>\u201d you almost get the idea that it\u2019s saying that when the Grecian empire runs out of options, when everything that they\u2019ve tried has failed they will, in desperation, reach out to this prefigurement of the antichrist, this man, Antiochus Epiphanes.\u00a0 And that is a wonderful description or a prefigurement of the coming antichrist.\u00a0 Why would the world submit to his rule?\u00a0 Why would the world submit to his authority?\u00a0 Because they\u2019ve tried everything else.\u00a0 Everything else hasn\u2019t worked, everything else has failed and consequently the world is set up to reach out to someone, anyone who could solve the problem of the world.\n\nYou know, Adolf Hitler didn\u2019t just come on the scene to be immediately embraced by people; Germany, as you know from history, was set up in advance for that.\u00a0 The runaway inflation, the humiliation that the German people had experienced in war and other things, and they were just so desperate to reach out for somebody, anyone, to solve their problems.\u00a0 And that\u2019s sort of the way \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0it\u2019s going to work with this coming antichrist.\u00a0 If Jesus is not in your heart and your hope is not in\u00a0 the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings, anybody with the gift of gab, anybody with negotiating ability, anybody with talent, anybody who looks like they\u2019re in control, you immediately, by human nature gravitate towards such a person when transgressions have run their course.\n\nIt says there in verse 23, \u201cA king\u201d singular, will arise,\u201d there\u2019s a lot of misunderstanding about the antichrist today.\u00a0 A lot of people, and I\u2019ve heard this from many, many people, trying to argue that the antichrist really is not an actual person, there\u2019s just a spirit of the antichrist.\u00a0 They like to quote \u00a0\u00a0\u00a01 John 4:3, which speaks of the spirit of the antichrist is now in the world, and they say don\u2019t look for an actual human being called the antichrist, there\u2019s just a spirit of the antichrist.\u00a0 [1 John 4:3, \u201cand every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.\u201d]\n\nBut you see, beloved, Antiochus was a real person; if you were alive during the reign of Antiochus you could have a conversation with him; he was a human being.\u00a0 You could probably go up and shake his hand, touch his skin, touch his garments or his clothing.\u00a0 The antichrist is a real person.\u00a0 In fact, he is just as real as Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 2 Thessalonians 2:3 calls the coming antichrist \u201cthe man,\u201d anthr\u014dpos<\/em>\u00a0 [\u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2] in the Greek, \u201cthe man of lawlessness.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Thessalonians 2:3, \u201cLet no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction\u201d].\n\nRevelation 13:18 says, \u201cHere is wisdom,\u201d of this coming antichrist, \u201cLet him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.\u201d\u00a0 What does the Bible reveal about this coming antichrist?\u00a0 He\u2019s an actual human being, an actual historical figure or personage, just as real as Antiochus, who will make his debut one day on the world scene offering humanity, Christ-less humanity a way out.\u00a0 The problem is, unbeknownst to people the problems the antichrist will introduce will be far more severe than the problems the world thought they had before he arrived.\u00a0 The problems that Adolf Hitler introduced into Germany were far worse, perhaps, than any problems that had preceded Hitler\u2019s arrival.\n\nBut you\u2019ll notice here he is called \u201cA king.\u201d \u00a0You\u2019ll also notice in verse 23 he is called \u201cinsolent.\u201d\u00a0 The word \u201cinsolent\u201d basically means boldly rude, disrespectful, insulting.\u00a0 Everything that this book is about, everything that God is about, the antichrist will be the exact opposite of that.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he is given the designation \u201cthe antichrist.\u201d\u00a0 Some say that means the opposite of Christ; it\u2019s probably better understood as in place of Christ. If a person will not respond to the offer of salvation, which is only available in Jesus Christ, their heart becomes open to a substitute.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the antichrist offers the world; a substitution and the world blindly follows, not understanding that what the antichrist introduces will be of such great severity.\n\nYou\u2019ll also notice there in verse 23 he\u2019s not only called \u201cinsolent\u201d but he is called \u201cskilled in intrigue.\u201d\u00a0 [23b, \u201cA king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue.\u201d]\u00a0 What does that word \u201cintrigue\u201d mean?\u00a0 It means to arouse curiosity, to arouse interest, to do something unusual.\u00a0 He will be a person of such unusual caliber and will be so skilled (you\u2019ll notice the word \u201cskilled\u201d there) in what he is able to do the world system will just gravitate towards this man, much as the world in that time in a limited sense gravitated towards Antiochus Epiphanes.\n\nNotice, if you will, verse 24, Daniel goes on in his description, it says, \u201cHis power will be mighty, but not by his own<\/em> power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will;<\/em>\u00a0He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s describing a man that comes on the scene, verse 24, who is of might and power.\u00a0 This is why in Revelation 6:1-4, also a description of the coming antichrist people are saying who can wage war against this man; who can challenge this man?\n\n[Revelation 6:1-4, \u201cThen I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, \u2018Come.\u2019 [21] I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.\u00a0 [3] When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, \u2018Come.\u2019\u00a0 [4] And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men<\/em> would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.\u201d]\n\nAnd how is it that a human being can come on the scene with such mighty power?\u00a0 Well, the answer is right here in verse 24, it won\u2019t be his own power, there will be a source of energy, a source of influence behind him.\n\nIt\u2019s sort of like Peter. \u00a0I call Peter the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth, always putting his foot in his mouth and one day Peter made a statement, probably thinking that his statement came from his own mind, his own intellect, trying to\u2026 there in Matthew 16, talk Jesus out of dying on the cross.\u00a0 And you recall the response of Christ, \u201cGet behind me\u201d what? \u201cSatan!\u201d\u00a0 There was something energizing Peter\u2019s comment unbeknownst to Peter.\n\nThis man, Antiochus launched this horrific wave of persecution against the Jews, yet Antiochus himself was nothing more than a pawn in the angelic conflict, the great agenda of Satan to stamp out, to eradicate the Jewish people. Antiochus himself was just a pawn in that great cosmic struggle.\n\nThat\u2019s basically what the future antichrist will be like.\u00a0 In fact, in Revelation 13:4 he is referred to as the beast, and this is what it says; \u201cthey\u201d that\u2019s the human race on the earth at the time, \u201cworshiped the dragon\u201d now who is the dragon?\u00a0 The dragon is Satan, Revelation 12:9 you\u2019ll see it, Revelation 20:2, you\u2019ll see it, they \u201cworshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, \u2018Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Revelation 12:9, \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 20:2, \u201cAnd he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;\u201d]\n\nAntiochus was satanically energized, as (I believe) Adolf Hitler was.\u00a0 But those are just small comparisons to what is coming because the Scripture teachers that this man, the antichrist, yet future, will be energized by the devil himself.\u00a0 In fact I\u2019m of the persuasion that he, the antichrist, will actually be possessed by Satan.\u00a0 You say well where are you getting this from?\u00a0 I mean, Satan doesn\u2019t enter people, does he?\u00a0 John 13:27, of Judas, says this: \u201cAfter the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him,\u201d Judas, \u201c\u2018What you do, do quickly.\u2019\u201d\n\nYes, Judas, through his own volition rejected Jesus Christ but he got so far in his rebellion against Jesus that he actually became indwelt by the devil himself.\u00a0 It is interesting to me that in the pages of the Word of God there are only two people that are given the title \u201cson of perdition.\u201d\u00a0 One of them is Judah, John 17:12, Jesus called Judas \u201cthe son of perdition.\u201d\u00a0 [John 17:12, \u201cWhile I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.\u201d]\n\nAnd the only other person in the whole Bible that is given the designation \u201cson of perdition,\u201d which means simply son of destruction, is who?\u00a0 The antichrist.\u00a0 2 Thessalonians 2:3 talks about this man of lawlessness coming who will be revealed, \u201cthe son of perdition,\u201d the \u201cson of destruction.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0[2 Thessalonians 2:3, NASB, \u201cLet no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,\u201d\u00a0 KJV, \u201cLet no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come<\/em>, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;\u201d]\n\nWhy is it that only Judas and the antichrist are referred to in that designation?\u00a0 My conjecture is I think they\u2019re the only two men in the history of the world (that we know of) that are possessed, not just by a demon but by the devil himself.\u00a0 You know, when Satan fell originally he deceived a third of the angels into falling with him. So he has a whole array to wage war against the child of God.\u00a0 Even the great Apostle Paul said he suffered from a messenger from Satan, perhaps a demon of some sort.\u00a0 But when it comes to the really big jobs the devil himself steps in, much as he did with Judas; much as he will do with this coming antichrist.\n\nSo Antiochus, prefiguring the antichrist, is powerful but not by his own power.\u00a0 I hope one of the things you understand\u00a0 is the power of Satan.\u00a0 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says of the antichrist, \u201cthat is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan,\u201d watch this, \u201cwith all power and signs and false wonders.\u201d\u00a0 Many people today are looking for a signs and wonders movement on the horizon.\u00a0 May I just say to you that if your mind is not saturated with biblical truth you fall into spiritual deception because the next signs and wonders movement (that I\u2019m aware of in the Scripture) is the counterfeit signs and wonders movement, orchestrated by Satan himself, through this man the antichrist.\n\nThe lawless one will come with power, that\u2019s the Greek word dunamis<\/em>, where we get the word dynamite, signs, that\u2019s the Greek word simeon<\/em>, and wonders, that\u2019s the Greek word t\u00e9ras<\/em><\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0[2 Thessalonians 2:9, \u201cthat is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with \u00a0\u00a0all power and signs and false wonders,\u201d]\u00a0 And it is very interesting to me that those are the same words that show up in the ministry of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Jesus, when He was on the earth, exercised powers, dynamis<\/em>, Matthew 11:23.\u00a0 He performed \u201csigns,\u201d sim\u0113on<\/em>, John 20:30. [\u201cTherefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;\u201d\u00a0 [Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which \u00a0are not written in this book;\u201d]\n\nHe performed wonders, t\u00e9ras<\/em><\/em>, Acts 2:22.\u00a0 [Acts 2:22, \u201c<\/em>Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus \u00a0the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know\u2014\u201c]\u00a0 In other words, this man, the antichrist will be such an image (in a certain sense) of Jesus Christ that he performs the same miracles that Jesus performed.\n\nNow you might be asking: Are you saying that Satan is as powerful as God?\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying that!\u00a0 This is no context.\u00a0 Satan is a created being, Ezekiel 28:13, 15 indicate that very clearly.\u00a0 [Ezekiel 28: 13, \u201cYou were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.\u00a0 [15] You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.\u201d]\n\nSatan is no match for an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God but don\u2019t mistake the notion that Satan has no power.\u00a0 He has incredible power.\u00a0 In fact, his powers are so profound that he is able to imitate to a certain extent the work of Jesus Christ, through this man, the antichrist.\n\nHere\u2019s a chart that we used in Sunday School today; this may be the most important chart you\u2019ve ever looked at in terms of Christianity.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because this chart deals, every time in the Bible where a miracle takes place that God has nothing to do with it.\u00a0 [Exodus 7-8; Deuteronomy 13:1-3, Matthew 7:21-23; 24:24; Acts 8:9;\u00a0 Acts 16:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:3, 13; 16:13-14]\n\nDo you realize that in the Bible there are miracles that are documented that God is not the author of?\u00a0 Do you remember Pharaoh\u2019s magicians, Exodus 7 and 8, could duplicate many of the signs performed by Moses and Aaron.\u00a0 Well, how could they do that if they don\u2019t know God?\u00a0 Well, there\u2019s another source of power in the universe called Satan.\u00a0 Deuteronomy 13:1-3 talks about a false prophet who will announce a sign or wonder that will come to pass.\u00a0 [Deuteronomy 3:1-3, \u201c\u201cIf a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, [2] and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, \u2018Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,\u2019 [3] you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.\u201d]\n\nIn the last days, the final judgment, Matthew 7, many will stand before Jesus Christ and say well wait a minute, didn\u2019t we perform signs and wonders in Your name. And Jesus will tell them plainly, depart from me, I never knew you. [Matthew 7:22-23, \u201cMany will say to Me on that day, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?\u2019 [23] \u201cAnd then I will declare to them, \u2018I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.\u2019\u201d]\n\nMatthew 24:24, false prophets in the last days performing signs and wonders.\u00a0 [Acts 24:24, \u201cFor false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.\u201d]\n\nActs 8:9, Simon the sorcerer, before he was a believer, was able to wow an entire city called Samaria with signs and wonders.\u00a0 [Acts 8:9, \u201cNow there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;\u201d]\n\nThe Philippian slave girl, Acts 16:16, able to predict the future through a spirit of divination inside of her.\u00a0 [Acts 16:16, \u201cIt happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.\u201d]\n\nGalatians 1:6-9 Paul says careful about angelic appearances.\u00a0 If an angel should appear to you yet contradict the Bible, contradict apostolic doctrine, that angel is to be placed under an anathema, which is an eternal condemnation to hell.\u00a0 [Galatians 1:6-9, \u201cI am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; [7] which is really<\/em> not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! \u00a0[9] As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!\u201d]\n\nI\u2019ve already showed you 2 Thessalonians 2:9 which uses the identical words of the miracles of Christ in the miracles of the coming antichrist.\u00a0 \u00a0[2 Thessalonians 2:9, \u201cthat is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,\u201d]\n\nDid you know that according to Revelation 13:3 the antichrist will die and be brought back to life through Satanic power?\u00a0 [Revelation 13:3, \u201cI saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;\u201d]\u00a0 This is what gets the attention of the world.\u00a0 He will call down, Revelation 13:13 fire in the presence of all men, sort of like Elijah did in the Old Testament.\u00a0 [Revelation 13:13, \u201cHe performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 16:13-14 talks about demons performing miracles. [Revelation 16:13-14, \u201cAnd I saw coming<\/em> out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; [14]for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.\u201d]\n\nWhy is all of this important?\u00a0 Because we\u2019re living in a society that has become highly experiential where people think that an experience is real, it must be God.\u00a0 I\u2019m not against experiences per se, but I hope in your experiences, whatever they may be, you are testing the experience by the Word of God.\u00a0 You say well, why should we do that?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s a biblical command, that\u2019s why.\n\n1 John 4:1 says, \u201cBeloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.\u201d\u00a0 Many people want to talk about experience A or experience B; my question is are you testing the experience through the lens of Scripture because God can\u2019t say something on Monday and contradict Himself on Tuesday.\u00a0 It\u2019s impossible!\n\nAnd think if a young man named Joseph Smith, who received from an angel, Moroni, the doctrines that we today call Mormonism, think if that young man, Joseph Smith, had tested his experience which no doubt, I believe, was a real experience.\u00a0 I believe Joseph Smith believed and probably saw what he thought was an angel, not understanding that it was an angel of light masquerading as something coming from God.\u00a0 Think how different the world would be today if Joseph Smith had tested that experience.\u00a0 Mormonism, as we know it today, wouldn\u2019t exist.\n\nThink about if a\u00a0 young man named Mohammed, who allegedly received a set of visions from Gabriel, (I don\u2019t think it was the Gabriel of the Bible either, I think it was a Gabriel, an angel of light,) what if Mohammed had tested his experience, which no doubt to him seemed very real, with what the Scripture said?\u00a0 Islam would not exist today.\n\nThe antichrist comes on the scene and he gives people what they are looking for in terms of an experience, in terms of a sign or wonder, and beloved, the world today is set up for this perfectly because people in their epistemology, which means doctrine of knowledge, epistemology is the study of how we know what we know, believe that truth and experience are equal.\u00a0 That is NOT the Christian worldview; that is NOT the Biblical worldview.\u00a0 Throw out experience\u2026 I didn\u2019t say that.\u00a0 What I said is there\u2019s a source of power in the universe, in the world, it\u2019s very clear by looking at all of these verses, that can generate all sorts of experiences for people and yet they\u2019re of satanic origin.\u00a0 Is God in the miracle working business?\u00a0 Of course He is!\u00a0 Is the devil, to a lighter extent, not as powerful as God, in the miracle working business?\u00a0 Of course he is!\u00a0 That\u2019s why you\u2019re never told to accept truth based on experiences; you\u2019re commanded by God to sift those experiences and test them.\n\nAnd so Antiochus, prefiguring the antichrist comes through his power and we\u2019re told very clearly here it is not by his own power, and in the process he will destroy\u2026 notice that word \u201cdestroy,\u201d verse 24, to an extraordinary degree.\u00a0 [Verse 24, \u201c\u201cHis power will be mighty, but not by his own<\/em> power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will;<\/em>\u00a0He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.\u201d]\n\nYou know, we use this expression quite a bit; God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!\u00a0 Can I give you the opposite of that?\u00a0 The devil hates you and has a terrible plan for your life!\u00a0 Every thought of goodness that God has toward you I can guarantee you this much, in the darkness of the fallen angelic realm there are counterfeit ideas, counter schemes hatched by Satan himself to destroy, to wreck, whether it\u2019s family, marriage, finances, relationships, anything that\u2019s good in your life, anything that\u2019s of value in your life.\u00a0 There is a strategy, as I speak now, in the forces of the dark realm to destroy.\u00a0 John 10:10, Jesus is very clear on this, \u201cThe thief\u201d that would be Satan, \u201ccomes only to steal and kill and destroy\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 How would we summarize the plan of Satan for our lives?\u00a0 It is to steal, kill and destroy.\u00a0 But fortunately the verse goes on, \u201cI came\u201d (Jesus) \u201cthat they may have life, and have it to the full.\u201d\n\nHow wise are you concerning the schemes of Satan?\u00a0 You know, the Apostle Paul, over and over again said we are not na\u00efve as to his schemes and yet the schemes of Satan are all revealed for us in the pages of God\u2019s Word if we would simply take the time to look.\n\n\u201cHe will be mighty, but not by his own<\/em> power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and\u201d\u00a0 he will,\u201d watch this, \u201cprosper\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 8:24] Well, I thought only God\u2019s people prospered and those that are bad didn\u2019t prosper.\u00a0 Prosperity is never something that is guaranteed to the church age child of God.\u00a0 If God prospers you, as we define prosperity, it\u2019s out of His grace.\u00a0 But beloved, let me tell you something; around the world today your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, outside of our blessed shores here in prosperous free America are not prospering in the sense that we define prospering; the exact opposite is occurring.\n\nSo prosperity is sort of a tricky idea; prosperity, we think, is automatically the favor of God. Antiochus was a man of prosperity; the antichrist coming will be a man of prosperity.\u00a0 Revelation 6:1-4, of the antichrist, says this: \u201cThen I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, \u2018Come.\u2019 [2] I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.\u201d\u00a0 That is not Jesus, that\u2019s the antichrist.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [3] \u201cWhen He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, \u2018Come.\u00a0 [4] And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth\u2026.\u201d\n\nThis man, the antichrist, is so prosperous that he actually brings world peace to planet earth.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what everybody is looking for.\u00a0 Think if a man showed up and solved the Middle East conflict with one deal.\u00a0 Think of the adoration and attention that would be directed towards such an individual.\n\nIt goes on and it says, verse 24, \u201c\u2026and he will prosper and perform his will.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 How different was Jesus Christ, who in John 6:38 says, \u201cFor I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how you know whether you\u2019re walking in the Spirit of the antichrist or not.\u00a0 Who\u2019s calling the shots?\u00a0 Who\u2019s in charge?\u00a0 Do you wake up every day of your life and say thank You, Lord, for giving me another day; today not my will be done but Thy will be done; I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to happen but I will submit under Your resources the control of my life to You.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Jesus wants to do through you and me; that\u2019s what He\u2019s all about.\n\nBut how different we are when we wake up in the morning and we don\u2019t even give God a second thought; don\u2019t consult His Word, don\u2019t pray a prayer of dependency and we just live our life as if God didn\u2019t exist.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the spirit of Christ at all; that\u2019s the spirit of the antichrist!\u00a0 The antichrist will be all about self-empowerment.\n\nIt\u2019s amazing how, in our culture today self is so exalted.\u00a0 The last time I checked there was even a magazine out there somewhere called Self<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about the holy trinity: me, myself and I!\u00a0 Or the doctrine of humanism which basically says man is the center of all things and God, if He exists at all is irrelevant.\u00a0 People walk by that system day after day after day after day not understanding who they are walking according to.\u00a0 It\u2019s not Christ but rather the spirit of the antichrist, the prince and the power of the air.\u00a0 He will perform his own will, look at verse 24, the end of it, \u201c\u2026He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s a perfect description 400 years in advance of what Antiochus did to God\u2019s people in the intertestamental period for about five years.\u00a0 Antiochus waged a war of persecution that was so severe that he even took over the Jewish temple offering Zeus, setting up Zeus\u2019 statue in the temple, humiliating the Jewish people by slaying a pig in the temple, outlawing Jewish circumcision, outlawing use of their Scriptures.\n\nAnd what did the Bible predict concerning the coming antichrist?\u00a0 Daniel 7:21, which we\u2019ve already studied, says, \u201cI kept looking, and that horn\u201d that would be the antichrist, \u201cwas waging war with the saints and overpowering them.\u201d\u00a0 And when we were in that passage I was very careful to note what the passage says and what the passage doesn\u2019t say.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say I kept looking and the horn was waging war with the church.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the church won\u2019t be here.\u00a0 In fact, in any tribulation passage you will not find the word \u201cchurch\u201d or Paul\u2019s description of the church which is the body of Christ.\u00a0 What you will see is a war on the saints in context speaking of the people of Israel.\n\nAnd you talk to Jewish people today and they don\u2019t want to hear anything about this; in their mind never again, our holocaust has happened.\u00a0 And if I\u2019m understanding my Bible correctly Hitler killed a third of the Jewish people, the antichrist, Zechariah 13:8, will kill two-thirds.\u00a0 [Zechariah 13:8, \u201c\u2018It will come about in all the land,\u2019 Declares the LORD, \u2018That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it.\u201d\u2019]\u00a0\u00a0 The holocaust, as horrible as it was, is minor in comparison to what\u2019s coming as prefigured in this man, Antiochus.\n\nNotice, if you will, verse 25, \u201cAnd through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself<\/em> in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are<\/em> at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Look at all that information there; notice there\u2019s a reference to \u201chis shrewdness.\u201d\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 Having sharp powers of judgment, astute.\u00a0 That\u2019s who Antiochus was; that\u2019s who this coming antichrist will be.\u00a0 He will be nobody\u2019s fool.\u00a0 He will exhibit, I believe, intelligence at a level that\u2019s super human because it will be Satan inside of him producing these things.\n\nDo you realize that according to Revelation 12 Satan still has access to heaven?\u00a0 Ask Job about that sometime.\u00a0 Job had all of these calamities because of a conversation between God and Satan that Job wasn\u2019t privy too.\u00a0 So Satan, even in his fallen state apparently has the ability to go into heaven, not to worship and serve as he once did as a high ranking angel but rather to communicate and accuse.\u00a0 In fact, the Bible tells us he does this day and night.\u00a0 But right there in Revelation 12, halfway through the tribulation period, when the antichrist desecrates the temple the privilege is gone.\u00a0 Satan, therefore, plummets to the earth knowing he has but a short time.\u00a0 It\u2019s in that exchange, I believe he goes right into the beast, much as he went right into Judas.\u00a0 And this is why this man, the antichrist, seems to have all of this miraculous miracle-working power.\u00a0 This astuteness, the shrewdness that he has.\n\nIt says in verse 25, \u201c\u2026 he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence;\u201d deceit\u2026 think about that for a minute, deception, the capacity to fool, the capacity to trick.\u00a0 I mean, does Satan have that kind of ability?\u00a0 You bet your bottom dollar!\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019s so good at it Revelation 12:9 says Satan \u201cdeceives the whole world.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 12:9, \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.\u201d]\n\nNever under estimate the deceptive powers that Satan has on a mind.\u00a0 After all, Satan deceived a third of the angels; think about this, angels that stand in the very presence of God, to rebel against God.\u00a0 What kind of deceptive ability is that?\u00a0 How do you rebel against God?\u00a0 God, by definition, cannot be rebelled against, right.\u00a0 And somehow these angels in their unfallen state, standing in the very presence of God, he deceived a third of them into falling with him.\n\nAnd then you take Adam and Eve, now remember something about Adam and Eve, the deception happened before the fall when Adam and Eve used to stroll with God in the cool of the garden, Satan deceived them as unfallen beings into rebelling against God.\u00a0 My goodness, if Satan can deceive the angels in their unfallen state and our forbearers as humans in their unfallen state what do you think he can do to you?\u00a0 What can he do to me in my fallen state, where I sin by job description anyway?\n\nJohn 8:44 calls Satan \u201cthe father of lies.\u201d\u00a0 [John 8:44, \u201cYou are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.\u201d]\n\nWell Andy, we have the mind of Christ, we can\u2019t be deceived.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 Why does Paul, writing to Christians say, \u201cLet no one in any way deceive you\u201d.\u00a0 [2 Thessalonians 2:3]\u00a0 The command doesn\u2019t make any sense unless we have the ability to be deceived by Satan himself.\u00a0 That explains to us the armor of God.\n\nEphesians 6:14 says, \u201cStand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,\u201d it goes on and talks about the helmet of salvation; the helmet protects the what?\u00a0 The mind.\u00a0 What is Satan after in your life?\u00a0 What is he after in my life?\u00a0 The mind!\u00a0 The 9\/11 hijackers did not have to take control of the whole airplane; they did not have to take control of every square inch of those planes that collided with our former twin towers.\u00a0 All you have to do is control the cockpit, the center of influence in the plane and you control the plane.\n\nYou get Satan influence in your mind he has influence over you and if you won\u2019t give him all of your mind he\u2019ll take 10%, 15%, 20%, whatever it is\u00a0 you\u2019re willing to give over.\u00a0 That\u2019s why there\u2019s so much in the Scripture, Romans 12:2 about renewing our minds.\u00a0 [Romans 12:2, \u201cAnd do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.\u201d]\n\nDaniel 8:25, \u201cAnd through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence;\u201d notice this, \u201cAnd he will magnify\u201d who? \u201chimself\u201d where? \u201cin his heart.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0He is all about self, not submission.\u00a0 And in fact, this is how Satan originally fell.\n\nIsaiah 14:13 says, \u201cBut you said in your\u201d what? \u201cheart, \u2018I<\/u> will ascend to heaven; I<\/u> will raise my throne above the stars of God,\u00a0 I<\/u> will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.\u201d\u00a0 I, I, I, I, me, me, me, me; that\u2019s the devil, that\u2019s the antichrist.\u00a0 And it\u2019s interesting to me that the text is very clear, not only here in Isaiah 14:13 but also right here in verse 25 that Satan, or Antiochus or the coming antichrist \u201cwill magnify himself in his heart.\u201d\u00a0 I had a pastor that put it this way one time: Private thoughts eventually will turn into public actions.\u00a0 Whatever is happening in the arena of the mind eventually is going to work its way out into daily life and practice.\n\nThis is why the Book of Proverbs, chapter 4 and verse 23, the way the King James Version translates it, \u201cKeep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cissues of life\u201d are determined by what is happening and resonating and ruminating in the heart, in the mind.\u00a0 I had another person put it this way: show me the books you\u2019re reading today and I\u2019ll show you the person you\u2019re going to be ten years from now, twenty years from now.\n\nThe power of the mind and what we think about and how it dictates actions down the road is such a huge theme in the Bible.\u00a0 In fact, Jesus, when He gave the Sermon on the Mount went right to the heart of the issue, He went to the mind of people; He went to the heart of people.\u00a0 They were priding themselves on saying we\u2019ve never murdered anybody.\u00a0 Jesus says of course you have, you do it all the time in your heart.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never committed adultery\u2026 well of course you have, you do it all the time, you do it in your heart.\n\nSee, when you go out to dinner, I have a little bit of experience with this, there\u2019s a reason they come around and they say would you like to order dessert?\u00a0 No thank you!\u00a0 Well, would\u00a0 you like to at least look at the dessert tray?\u00a0 Even though it\u2019s made of plastic with little pieces of cake, it doesn\u2019t look like plastic, I tried to reach out and lick some of it one time and they pulled it away from me, but they understand that what you think about you\u2019ll end up doing.\n\nLet me ask you a question: why does Madison Avenue spend millions and millions and millions of dollars on soundbites and commercials?\u00a0 Why is it that they will pay a fortune to get a thirty second soundbite for a commercial on Super Bowl Sunday?\u00a0 Why is that so coveted by marketers?\u00a0 Because they understand that what you think about, what is allowed into the eye gate, what is allowed into the ear gate, eventually will shape purchasing and buying activity.\n\nThe antichrist starts off, as did Satan, with thoughts in his heart and that dictated his career and what he became.\u00a0 So this man, the antichrist, as anticipated in Antiochus, \u201che will destroy\u201d\u00a0 look at this, \u201cmany while they are at ease.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 8:25]\n\n1 Thessalonians 5:3 puts it this way: \u201cWhile they are saying, Peace and safety!\u2019 then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.\u201d\u00a0 When are you most vulnerable to deception?\u00a0 When everything is going well because when things are going well we have a tendency to maybe trust ourselves a little too much, maybe to exhibit a little less dependence upon God.\u00a0 You know, there\u2019s two great tests for the Christian; one is adversity, can you walk with God in adversity.\u00a0 The other one is prosperity, can you walk with God in prosperity.\u00a0 I think the latter test is much harder to pass.\n\nYou look, all the way through the Bible, when was Joseph tempted to become sexually immoral with Potiphar\u2019s wife?\u00a0 After he had been promoted over everything in Potiphar\u2019s household.\u00a0 When was David tempted to commit adultery with Bathsheba?\u00a0 You read about it in 2 Samuel 11, towards the beginning, chapter 10, chapter 11, after a whole string of success, and it talks about when kings go out to battle\u2026 David stayed behind in the palace.\u00a0 David should have been somewhere else but probably rested a little bit on his laurels, probably thought the Lord is sure lucky to have me on his side kind of attitude.\u00a0 And that\u2019s when the devil comes with his minions to destroy.\u00a0 When does this destruction happen?\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty clear, when they\u2019re saying \u201cpeace and safety.\u201d\u00a0 The destruction happens while they are living at ease.\n\nAnd Antiochus, it says verse 25, \u201cwill oppose the prince of princes.\u201d\u00a0 In historical context I think it means Antiochus went to war with the leader of Israel, maybe it\u2019s talking about the war he waged with Judas Maccabaeus.\u00a0 And what a tremendous picture this is of the antichrist who will go to war with Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 This is why he\u2019s called the antichrist, the opposite of Christ or in the place of Christ.\u00a0 And yet how does it all end?\u00a0 It\u2019s right there at the end of verse 25, \u201cBut he\u201d Antiochus \u201cwill be broken without human agency.\u201d\u00a0 How does it always end for these people that live their lives in rebellion against God.\u00a0 It ultimately comes to a screeching halt because \u201cGod opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.\u201d\u00a0 [James 4:6]\n\nWe have studied Hanukkah and how that came about, the Feast of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, how there was a miracle whereby the Jews against all odds went to war against Antiochus and liberated the Temple Mount from Seleucid rule.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about how the Menorah miraculously burned eight days to rededicate the temple when there was only enough oil for one day; how the great feast day in Judaism begins, called The Feast of Lights or Dedication, or Hanukah.\u00a0 There\u2019s a miracle that happened that stopped Antiochus dead in his tracks and that\u2019s how it\u2019s going to be for the antichrist.\u00a0 He prospers for a while but he doesn\u2019t get far.\n\n2 Thessalonians 2:8 says, \u201cAnd then the<\/em> lawless one will be revealed, whom the<\/em> Lord Jesus will overthrow with the<\/em> breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 says, \u201c\u2026one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 19:20 says, \u201cAnd the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two\u201d antichrist and false prophet, \u201cwere thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.\u201d\n\nThis is why the Bible says don\u2019t fret when the unrighteous seem to be prospering, seem to be getting ahead, seem to be succeeding.\u00a0 [Psalm 37:7, \u201cRest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way\u2026.\u201d ]\u00a0\u00a0 God has this whole thing under control, does He not?\n\nWe come now to the time frame of the vision.\u00a0 Notice, if you will Daniel 8:26, as Daniel is seeking an interpretation of these things.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThe vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but keep the vision secret, for it pertains to many days in the future.\u201d\n\nWhat is this reference here to the \u201cvision of the evenings and mornings,\u201d it goes right back to chapter 8, verses 13-14 where one angel in the midst of Antiochus\u2019 persecution of the Jewish people says how long is this going to last.\u00a0 How long, O Lord?\u00a0 The answer is 2,300 days, roughly six years.\u00a0 [Daniel 8:13, \u201cThen I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, \u2018How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?\u2019 [14] He said to me, \u2018For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.\u2019\u201d]\n\nI\u2019ve shown you how that fits exactly historically.\u00a0 So the vision of the evenings and the mornings, notice what Daniel is told, \u201cWhich has been told is true,\u201d [Daniel 8:26] these things will happen and as a Bible student I can tell you that these things happened just like God said.\u00a0 And if these things happened what am I going to do with the other prophecies yet to come?\u00a0 Those will happen too because God is outside of time; He sees the end from the beginning and cannot lie.\u00a0 Jesus, in John 17:17 says, \u201cSanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.\u201d\u00a0 The politicians won\u2019t always give you the truth\u2026 Amen!\u00a0 The educational establishment won\u2019t always give you the truth.\u00a0 God forbid even the churches to some extent won\u2019t always give you the truth.\u00a0 Where are you going to get truth from?\u00a0 It\u2019s right here.\u00a0 It\u2019s invaluable, these are announcing things which cannot be broken.\n\nHe says there in verse 26 something that no doubt frustrated Daniel, \u201cBut keep the vision secret,\u201d he probably wanted to shout it from the mountain tops, \u201cKeep this vision secret\u201d why is that? \u201cfor it pertains to many days in the future.\u201d\u00a0 Why was he told to seal it up?\u00a0 Because when Daniel saw this it was 551 B.C. as Daniel 8:1 tells us.\u00a0 [Daniel 8:1, \u201cIn the third year of King Belshazzar\u2019s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me.\u201d]\u00a0 These things wouldn\u2019t happen, reach their fulfillment until 165 B.C.\u00a0 There\u2019s 386 years to go before these things happen Daniel.\u00a0 They don\u2019t concern you, they don\u2019t concern\u00a0 your generation.\u00a0 In fact, this prophecy isn\u2019t even for your generation.\u00a0 You just write it down and guess what\u2019s going to happen?\u00a0 When these things happen long after you\u2019re dead people are going to see what you\u2019ve written and say WOW, God is truly the God of omniscience.\n\nDaniel is not just told things to keep things secret here, at the end of the book, as we will study, it says in Daniel 12:4, \u201cBut as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the Book until the end; for many will go back and forth and knowledge will increase.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Go your way, Daniel, for these words are sealed dup until the time of the end.\u201d\u2019\u00a0 [Daniel 12:9]\u00a0 Now what does this mean, people going back and forth and knowledge increasing?\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you how I used to interpret that; that\u2019s the internet, that\u2019s airline flights, those are boats, those are technological increases in the last days.\u00a0 I think the Bible has a lot to say about technology which will exist in the last days but that\u2019s not what this verse is talking about?\u00a0 When you study \u201cto and fro\u201d\u00a0 you have to cross reference it with Amos 8:12 which says, \u201cPeople will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.\u201d\n\nWhat is \u201cgoing to and fro\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s reading, it\u2019s becoming interested through study what these prophecies say.\u00a0 Why would people become interested in this?\u00a0 Because as the prophecies get closer and closer and closer and closer to their allotted time frame when they will be fulfilled, then you sort of read this and say aha, that\u2019s what this prophecy is about.\u00a0 And as you start to live in the season when the prophecy will be fulfilled you start to make more sense of biblical prophecies.\n\nYou know, there\u2019s a prophecy in the Book of Revelation, verse 8, it talks about two witnesses, it says they\u2019re going to be killed in the city streets of Jerusalem, Revelation 11:9, they\u2019re going to rise from the dead and the whole world is going to see it.\u00a0 [Revelation 12:3, \u201cAnd I will grant authority<\/em> to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 11:8, \u201cAnd their dead bodies will lie<\/em> in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.\u00a0 [9] Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will<\/em> look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.\u201d]\n\nHave you ever gone back and tried to read commentators a hundred years ago trying to make sense of that prophecy?\u00a0 Trying to rewrite the prophecy; it really doesn\u2019t mean the whole world could see it and yet in our time period we don\u2019t really wonder about that any more, do we?\u00a0 Because the technology is in place, whether you want to call it live feed or whether you want to call it skype, whether you want to call it the internet, whether you want to call it television cameras, whether you want to call it CNN (assuming anybody watches CNN any more).\u00a0 The whole technology is in place and you can see exactly how it\u2019s going to be fulfilled.\u00a0 In fact, I could take you to websites right now that will give you live feeds on what is happening in the city streets of Jerusalem, in the Temple Mount area as I speak.\u00a0 Now a hundred\u00a0 years how crazy it all looked and how people who took these things at face value were no doubt routinely laughed at.\n\nBut Daniel, you don\u2019t understand it all, seal it up because the time will come\u2026 you did your job, you recorded it, the time will come when people will go to and fro, reading and knowledge of what? prophecy would increase because suddenly the scenario looks credible, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 We\u2019re living, beloved, and I\u2019m not a date-setter as you know; but I will say this, we\u2019re living in a time period when history has caught up to what the Bible says about the last days.\u00a0 Just like history caught up to what Daniel predicted concerning Antiochus Epiphanes.\n\nHave\u00a0 you ever asked yourself this question: why is Daniel told to seal it up, Revelation 22:10, to John on the island of Patmos after John received his vision says this, \u201cAnd he said to me, \u2018Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.\u201d\u00a0 Daniel is told to seal it up; John is told to unseal it.\u00a0 Why the difference?\u00a0 To me the answer is very simple; Daniel lived in the 6th<\/sup> century, there were many centuries to do before these things could happen.\u00a0 John, on the other hand, living in the first century is saying these things could happen at any moment.\u00a0 So the difference in time period historically when these two lived explains why God said seal up to Daniel but to John He said unseal.\n\nSo we are living in a time period when God is telling the church to unseal the prophecy, to preach the prophecy.\u00a0 By the way, Revelation 22 explains that these things are to be preached, not in the seminaries, verse 16 says these things are to be preached in the churches.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:16, \u201cI, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.\u201d]\u00a0 Pulpits are to be on fire and alive with these truths.\u00a0 And I\u2019m running into pastors that won\u2019t touch this stuff because they\u2019re afraid it\u2019s going to offend somebody, they\u2019re afraid it\u2019s going to bring division, they\u2019re afraid it\u2019s going to bring controversy.\u00a0 Let me tell you something; if you are afraid of controversy you\u2019ve missed your calling.\u00a0 Your job is controversy, not because\u00a0 you\u2019re obnoxious or rude but truth itself divides; that\u2019s what it does.\u00a0 You let truth out of its cage it will divide.\u00a0 It will divide mother and father, husband and wife, children and parents.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let that disturb\u00a0 you, don\u2019t let that bother you, that\u2019s the nature of truth.\u00a0 This is what truth does.\u00a0 But as for you, Daniel, seal these things.\n\nVerse 27, look at the impact this had on Daniel, as you might expect.\u00a0 \u201cThen I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king's business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 8:27]\n\nNotice verse 27 says \u201cThen I, Daniel,\u201d\u00a0 you know, this book keeps saying Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel.\u00a0 Do you get the idea that Daniel wrote it; don\u2019t you get that impression?\u00a0 You don\u2019t get the impression that somebody wrote this long after Daniel was dead, which is what the academics want you to believe.\u00a0 They don\u2019t think Daniel wrote this because how could Daniel have known these things?\u00a0 Well, he knew these things because God, who sees the end from the beginning in omniscience revealed these things to Daniel.\n\nHe says there in verse 27, I \u201cwas exhausted and sick for days.\u201d\u00a0 Now why is that?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why, I think it has something to do with the fact that he has sympathy for what he sees his own people, the Hebrew people, going through.\u00a0 He knows it\u2019s a time of suffering that doesn\u2019t necessarily involve him but he has such solidarity with his own people that he is disturbed by what he sees.\u00a0 This is what happened at the end of his vision in chapter 7; Daniel 7:28 says, \u201cAt this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.\u201d\u00a0 You know, there\u2019s a principle in the Bible that when someone else suffers we should suffer.\n\n1 Corinthians 12:26 says, \u201cAnd if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it\u201d because we\u2019re connected to one another as a body.\u00a0 Daniel was not part of the body of Christ as we understand it today but he understood his solidarity with the Jewish people and even though this wouldn\u2019t affect his immediate life, this whole thing that he sees, this prophecy of suffering even though it\u2019s limited to 2300 days is something that disturbs him.\n\nDoes that describe you when you look at your brothers and sisters in Christ as they succeed, as they fail, as they\u2019re being persecuted, does something in you rise up and say I\u2019m disturbed by that?\u00a0 Or I rejoice in that, even though it\u2019s not your life directly.\u00a0 That will sort of act as a barometer, if you will, to your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 And I love the fact that for Daniel prophecy didn\u2019t become such a \u201cpie in the sky\u201d thing that it lost its personal impact on Daniel.\n\nI am afraid that sometimes with prophecy we get so involved with ideas and defending our view and drawing our charts, and those things have their place, that somehow it\u2019s just a mental thing and it loses it\u2019s practical import.\n\nVerse 27, \u201cThen I got up again and carried on the king\u2019s business.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe king\u2019s business,\u201d isn\u2019t it interesting how Daniel didn\u2019t become so spiritual that he lost sight of his secular vocation.\u00a0 You know, there are some people that will literally steal from their boss\u2026 I can\u2019t work hard today, I\u2019m here reading my Bible, I\u2019m listening to worship music, don\u2019t bother me with the day to day work.\u00a0 I\u2019m taking a long lunch break because we\u2019re having a Bible study.\u00a0 And people\u00a0 use spirituality as some sort of excuse to get out of life\u2019s daily activity.\n\nMay I tell you something; that is not God, that\u2019s flesh!\u00a0 When God gets hold of somebody and they begin to understand spiritual insight that makes them more effective on the job; that makes them a better worker, it makes them a better student, it makes them a better husband, it makes them a better wife, it makes them a better father or child, or mother.\u00a0 The Bible is never given to people so that they can use spirituality as a way to exempt themselves from daily responsibility.\n\nDaniel through all of this understands that it\u2019s not his business, it\u2019s the King\u2019s business that he\u2019s got to get back to.\u00a0 Daniel never separated his spiritual life from his vocational life.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what the accusation against him in Daniel 6 was all about.\u00a0 \u201cThe commissioners and the satraps began trying to find a ground to accuse Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption in as much as he was faithful and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.\u201d [Daniel 6:4]\u00a0 Spirituality was never an excuse to get out of life\u2019s responsibilities.\n\nAnd the chapter ends, verse 27, when he says, \u201cI was astounded\u2026 and there was none to explain it.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 8:27, \u201cThen I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king's business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.\u201d]\u00a0 Daniel wanted understanding; the understanding he wanted was denied to him because it didn\u2019t concern him; it concerned generations yet future.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting that we are living in a time period where we can, little old me, in my office, studying the Bible, can understand Daniel\u2019s prophecies better than Daniel himself understood it.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that exciting?\u00a0 Because I\u2019m smarter than him?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 Because of the time period I\u2019m living in.\u00a0 This is just a terribly exciting time to be alive as a Christian, as you live your life through the lens of the prophetic Word of God.\n\nTakeaways from chapter 8.\u00a0 Number 1, a takeaway of comfort.\u00a0 Evil, as bad as it is, is on a leash; it\u2019s only going to last, in this prophecy 2,300 days and His people will be sustained through it.\n\nWhatever is happening in your life, as severe as it looks, is on a leash and just as God got the Jewish people through the ordeal of Antiochus He\u2019s going to get you through your ordeal as you walk with Him.\n\nAnd the second takeaway is live for God.\u00a0 You know, the Maccabean Revolt, they probably didn\u2019t have the foggiest idea they could win and restore the temple and rededicate it.\u00a0 They just lived for God, they just took a chance with no guarantee.\u00a0 They stepped out in faith, probably looked crazy and yet God showed up.\u00a0 And I would encourage you this week to not sit and try to figure out how I\u2019m going to win and how this is going to get under control or how that\u2019s going to get under control.\u00a0 You\u00a0 may not have the foggiest idea how it\u2019s going to happen because God hasn\u2019t shown you yet.\u00a0 What God is saying is just live for me, step out, take a chance, take a risk.\u00a0 Walk with God, put Him first.\n\nShall we pray?\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for Daniel chapter 8 and the truths that it speaks to us although this book was written long ago.\u00a0 I ask, Father, that You would help us this week as we walk with You understanding the limits of evil and also understanding that\u00a0 You\u2019re with us just as You were with those who overcame against great odds in the Maccabean Revolt which was the subject of this prophecy.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We lift these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u00a0 And God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t