{"id":18421,"date":"2017-12-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-046-wars-are-determined-part-2\/"},"modified":"2017-12-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-17T06:00:00","slug":"daniel-046-wars-are-determined-part-2","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-046-wars-are-determined-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 046 – Wars Are Determined (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18421","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 046 - Wars Are Determined (Part 2)","sermon_date":"20171217","sermon_month":"12","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":5254,"sermon_slides":5257,"sermon_mp3":5259,"sermon_id":"121717105986","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"11:13-20","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nWars are Determined, Part 2\n\n12-17-17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 11:13-20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 46\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Daniel, chapter 11 and verse 13.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Wars are Determined, Part 2.\u00a0 As we have been working our way through probably one of the most difficult passages in the Book of Daniel to understand, Daniel chapter 11, and I\u2019m sure you guys got the word on the street that next Sunday we\u2019re not having Sunday School but one service at 10:00 a.m.\u00a0 So if you show up at 11 you\u2019ll think you missed the rapture.\u00a0 And then we have a Christmas Eve service that night at 6:00 p.m.\u00a0 And folks are going to want to come to that because I only preach for ten minutes at that service and most people don\u2019t think that it\u2019s possible so you might want to come for some extra documentation.\u00a0 That is next Sunday evening.\u00a0 And then the following Sunday is New Year\u2019s Eve so once again we\u2019ll just have one service, no Sunday School, 10:00 a.m.\u00a0 And then when we reconvene the first Sunday in January we\u2019ll be back to our normal schedule at 11:00. And you want to come tonight to hear more of what we just heard.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 That\u2019s at 6:00 o\u2019clock, aka 5:45, right.\u00a0 So let\u2019s watch for members.\n\nWell, I\u2019ve got more things for you to remember because we\u2019re going through the Book of Daniel verse by verse.\u00a0 Daniel, as we started talking about last time, has some very myopic prophecies.\u00a0 They are so detailed that there is no way Daniel could have known these things ahead of time unless God had told him about them.\n\nSo we\u2019re going to get some more about what we got last week, an intricate history lesson but take heart because at the end I\u2019m going to give you five points of application\u00a0 How does this fascinating information that Daniel foresaw 400 years in advance, how does it relate to daily life.\u00a0 So bear with me as we seek to navigate our way through this this morning.\n\nDaniel, of course, in chapters 10-12 is receiving from God the final vision that he had before his death.\u00a0 And the setting is given, chapter 10, verses 1-3, where the vision really starts, and it\u2019s there that we learn that this is the third year of Cyrus, 536.\u00a0 So it is the final recorded historical date in the Book of Daniel, the number 536, as I\u2019ve said before, you want to commit to memory because Daniel is going to be seeing things that would not materialize for several centuries as we\u2019ll be talking about today.\n\nThe heavenly messenger arrives there in Persia to give Daniel this vision, verses 4-9.\u00a0 The messenger does some explaining; what\u2019s the purpose of the vision and what took the messenger so long to get there, 21 days of spiritual warfare, as we have talked about in prior sermons.\u00a0 The actual content of the prophecy that the devil worked so hard to prevent Daniel from receiving really starts in chapter 11 and verse 2.\u00a0 Daniel, you\u2019ll recall, has in verse 2 some information that he records in this prophecy about Persia; that was the empire that Daniel was serving in at the time this vision was given to him.\u00a0 And we went through verse 2 and looked at the interesting information that the Holy Spirit revealed in advance concerning Persia.\u00a0 It\u2019d be like somebody coming to you and giving you want the next hundred or so years would be like in the United States.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t you want to know that.\u00a0 On second thought maybe you wouldn\u2019t want to know that\u2026.\u00a0 But that\u2019s sort of what Daniel received there in verse 2.\n\nAnd then in verse 3 and 4 the Spirit of God shifts and begins to talk about the next empire on the horizon, from Daniel\u2019s perspective, and this would be the Empire of Greece.\u00a0 It\u2019s a prophecy about Alexander the Great and it\u2019s a prophecy about his soon death, very early Alexander the Great died around age 32-33.\u00a0 And upon Alexander the Great\u2019s death his empire was divided amongst his four generals.\u00a0 Cassander took Macedonia; Lysimachus took Thrace and Asia Minor; Ptolemy took Egypt and Seleucus took Syria which would include the land of Israel.\u00a0 That\u2019s a map if you\u2019re interested on what the division of Alexander the Great\u2019s empire actually looked like when it was divided amongst the four generals.\u00a0 Daniel, of course, sees this well in advance.\n\nThe two most important generals would be Ptolemy of Egypt and Seleucus of Syria. Cassander and Lysimachus drop off the radar screen, they are not the focus of the Holy Spirit\u2019s prophecies at this point.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because Ptolemy of Egypt and Seleucus of Syria would impact what part of the world?\u00a0 The land of Israel.\u00a0 And what you have to understand as far as God is concerned is Israel, we saw it last time, a few verses on this, Ezekiel 5:5, Ezekiel 38:12, Daniel\u2019s contemporary, Ezekiel, indicates that Jerusalem in particular, and the nation of Israel in general, is the centerpiece of all divine activity.\u00a0 [Ezekiel 5:5, \u201cThus says the Lord GOD, \u2018'This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Ezekiel 38:12, \u201cto capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.\u201d]\n\nIn fact, the Hebrew word that\u2019s translated there \u201ccenter\u201d is the word navel in Hebrew, or belly-button, or the center of the body. \u00a0Just as the bellybutton is the center of the body the nation of Israel is the centerpiece of everything that God has done and will do. It\u2019s the part of the world where God\u2019s redemptive program started.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to be celebrating that next week as we take a look at the birth of Jesus Christ from that part of the world.\u00a0 And it\u2019s, as Solomon said, what has been will be again.\u00a0 [Ecclesiastes 1:9, \u201cThat which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.\u201d]\u00a0 History, human history is recycling back to that part of the world where the final conflict of the ages will be waged.\n\nIsn\u2019t it interesting today that as you pick up the newspaper and you turn on the news what are they all talking about all the time?\u00a0 Jerusalem.\u00a0 We made reference last week, even our own President just recognized the historic capital of Jerusalem as the capital of the nation of Israel.\u00a0 The prophet Zechariah predicted that in the last days Jerusalem would become a cup of trembling that would send all nations reeling and this is the very thing that is beginning to materialize in our own time.\u00a0 And these Jerusalem prophecies become the subject of what the Holy Spirit is giving to Daniel.\n\nAnd so we move into verses 5-20, we started looking at these last time, which is a record of the Ptolemies and the Seleucids.\u00a0 The Ptolemies and the Seleucids, Ptolemy and Seleucid started dynasties in their respective corners.\u00a0 And those two dynasties fight each other for about 150 years.\u00a0 Daniel is seeing that conflict taking place as these two dynasties are going back and forth over the beautiful land, something called the beautiful land, the land of Israel.\n\nSo what we have in verses 5-20 is the history of the warfare between these two dynasties, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria.\u00a0 The Ptolemies of Egypt are known in these prophecies as the king or kings of the south and the Seleucids of Syria in the north are known as the King and Kings of the North.\u00a0 It\u2019s describing ancient warfare that went on from about 323 B.C. when Alexander the Great died and his empire was divided up until 175 B.C. when a man, a Seleucid, named Antiochus Epiphanes would appear on the scene.\u00a0 He appears on the scene about 175 B.C. and he becomes very significant in Daniel\u2019s prophecies beginning in verses 21, really through about verse 35, because he is a prefigurement, if you, probably one of the best we have in the Bible, a prefigurement, or a type of the coming antichrist.\n\nThe coming antichrist will start to be described again in verse 36 right on through the end of the chapter.\u00a0 So we today as we close out the year 2017 are really living in between Daniel 11:35, the end of that verse, but verse 36 is\u00a0 yet future.\u00a0 And so we ask ourselves, well, is verse 36 and following going to happen?\u00a0 If I were a betting man I would say yes because everything prior to verse 36 has historically happened.\n\nThe track record of prophecy gives us confidence of the future related to the accuracy of Bible prophecy.\u00a0 I\u2019m an ex-basketball player and let\u2019s say I\u2019m at the free-throw line, I didn\u2019t have the greatest free throw percentage by the way, but let\u2019s just pretend here.\u00a0 I make nine free throws in a row nothing but net.\u00a0 And then I turn to you and I say do you think I can make the tenth one?\u00a0 Most likely you\u2019re going to say yes because you\u2019ve seen the track record.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you have there in verses 1-35, you have a track record of how accurate prophecy is which gives us confidence that number 10 out of 10 will make it into the goal as well.\n\nThe beautiful land is Israel, Cassander and Lysimachus are not in view and there\u2019s a big push in these prophecies to move us from 198 B.C., I\u2019ll make a reference to that this morning because that\u2019s when the northern kingdom got the upper hand in the in the land of Israel.\u00a0 And from that northern kingdom the Syrians of the Seleucid Dynasty is going to come someone that is very, very bad, this man Antiochus Epiphanes.\u00a0 You see him mentioned in the Seleucid dynasty at the very bottom of the screen.\u00a0 He is the one that\u2019s going to launch a horrific wave of persecution against the Jewish people.\u00a0 By the way, which happened the same time we celebrate Christmas and this will take place in the intertestamental time period.\u00a0 The Jews, under God\u2019s provision of grace will liberate the temple at this particular point in time and these events are but a foreshadowing, the Scripture tells us, of things to come. What, as Solomon said, has happened will be again.\n\nSo there\u2019s the list, there\u2019s the complicated historical list of the different rulers that we have been navigating our way through in verses 5-20. \u00a0[Kings of the South (Egypt): Ptolemy I (Soter) 323-285; Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) 285-247; Ptolemy III (Euregutus) 247-221, Ptolemy IV (Philopater) 221-220, Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) 203-182. Kings of the North (Syria): Seleucus I (Nicator) 312-281; Antiochus 1 (Soter) 281-261; Antiochus Theos (251-246); Antiochus Callinicus 246-226; Seleucus III, 226-223; Antiochus III (Great) 223-187; Seleucus IV (Philopater) 186-175; Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) 175-164). Paul N. Benware, Commentary on the Book of Daniel: The Coming Judgment of the Nations; Daniel\u2019s Prophecy of Things to Come (Clifton, TX: Scofield Ministries, 2007), 233]\n\nNow by God\u2019s grace we covered verses 5-12 last time, so we pick it up at verses 13-16.\u00a0 I\u2019ll read the verses and make a few historical comments and try to keep this moving, moving towards the end at the end of this sermon to five major points of application; how does this matter to us.\u00a0 In verses 13-16 the subject is Ptolemy IV, Ptolemy V and Antiochus III.\u00a0 With each group of material I have a brief summary just for your own edification as to what generally happened and how Daniel\u2019s prophecies were realized.\n\nNotice, if you will, Daniel 11:13-16.\u00a0 It says: \u201cFor the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.\u00a0 [14] Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down. [15] Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground,<\/em> not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. [16] \u201cBut he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to<\/em> withstand him; he will also stay for a time<\/em> in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.\u201d\n\nWhat\u2019s going on here.\u00a0 Well, Antiochus III who suffered, not a fatal blow but defeat under Ptolemy IV, Antiochus III makes a comeback.\u00a0 In fact, I believe that that comeback by Antiochus III is what Daniel is speaking of there in verse 13.\u00a0 Ptolemy IV and his queen suddenly and mysteriously die, or disappear (we\u2019re not exactly sure what happened to them) thereby vacating the throne of Egypt and that paved the way for Ptolemy V to occupy the throne.\u00a0 And history tells us that Ptolemy V occupied the throne there in Egypt as but a six year old; isn\u2019t that amazing.\u00a0 Antiochus III therefore saw this as an opportunity to wipe out or to attack Egypt.\n\nSo Antiochus III and his ally, Philip of Macedon, invaded Egypt and as we look at this very, very carefully it says, many Egyptians sided with the invaders.\u00a0 And as we continue on, down at the bottom, Antiochus III did as he pleased, verse 16, he took Israel, verse 16, and he placed it under northern rule.\u00a0 Now it is interesting to look at this very carefully.\u00a0 It talks there in verse 16 that he did according to his own will.\u00a0 That expression \u201cdid according to his own will\u201d shows up over and over again here in Daniel chapter 11.\u00a0 These kings, operating without God, think they\u2019re doing their own will when in reality as they exercise their own will in opposition to God\u2019s will they are accomplishing God\u2019s will.\n\nAnd you say well, Pastor, can you explain that to us.\u00a0 No I can\u2019t, somehow in the sovereignty of God and the providence of God, God can take the free will decisions of His creatures that are in rebellion to Him and use that to execute his own will.\u00a0 God is using Satan as I speak in this very way.\u00a0 This is how God is going to use the antichrist.\u00a0 This is how God used Alexander the Great to bring in the Greek language, as we\u2019ve talked about.\u00a0 So the language would be in place, one of the deepest dialects known to man, to record the revelation of God\u2019s Son.\u00a0 And I really doubt Alexander the Great knew that that\u2019s what he was doing all the way back in 331 B.C.\u00a0 He just thought I\u2019m going to bring in the Greek language, exercising his own will.\u00a0 And yet God was sovereignly at work.\n\nYou know people today think they\u2019re really getting one-up on God.\u00a0 I have people that tell me all the time\u2026 you\u2019re interested in Bible prophecy, well, I\u2019m not interested in it at all; in fact, I hate the subject of Bible prophecy.\u00a0 And my answer to them is well, you just fulfilled a prophecy.\u00a0 2 Peter 3 says, \u201cIn the last days people will come following their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of His coming.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Peter 3:3, \u201cKnow this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, [4] and saying, \u2018Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.\u2019\u201d]\n\nPeople think they\u2019re so smart, they think they\u2019re so up on things, they think they can reject God\u2019s will with impunity, and God is so big that He can even use a rebellious will to accomplish His own will.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t wait to get into heaven and be with Jesus Christ and be guided in a history lesson where He shows us over and over again how that happened.\u00a0 God has not lost control of anything.\u00a0 In fact, Psalm 2 talks about how God as the nations are in rebellion against Him, what does God do?\u00a0 He laughs.\u00a0 [Psalm 2:4, \u201cHe that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.\u201d]\u00a0 Think of God being personified as breaking out into open hysterical laughter.\u00a0 That is the attitude of God towards these tiny people that he has created who decided to rebel against Him.\n\nSo He\u2019s doing according to his own will, verse 16, he is moving into the land of Israel, the glorious land, and notice that the nation of Israel, even in unbelief, their land is called glorious.\u00a0 [Daniel 11:16, \u201cBut he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.\u201d KJV]\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had a seminary professor once that really said something that got under my skin. He said don\u2019t call that land over there \u201cHoly Land,\u201d there\u2019s nothing holy about that land; I mean, those are the people that are in unbelief, those are the people that rejected Jesus Christ, the land of Israel.\u00a0 But isn\u2019t it interesting that Israel even in unbelief in the land that they are occupying is called over and over and over again the glorious land.\n\nWhy is that?\u00a0 Because the land ultimately does not belong to them, it belongs to who?\u00a0 It belongs to God!\u00a0 Leviticus 25, God says the land is Mine.\u00a0 [Leviticus 25:23, \u201cThe land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.\u201d]\u00a0 And\u00a0 you can read all about it in the covenant that God made with Abram, a tract of real estate starting at modern day Egypt or the Nile, and going to modern day Iraq or the Euphrates.\u00a0 Even in unbelief that part of the world remains holy unto God.\u00a0 The city of Jerusalem is the only city that has ever existed where God has placed His own name. Multiple Scriptures in your Bible tell you this over and over and over again.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what the attitude of the people there are to God, God has claimed that city and that land for Himself.\n\nAnd the day will come in the outworking of God\u2019s purposes where that part of the world, in the millennial kingdom, will be the nerve center of the entire earth.\u00a0 The nations will go to Israel, Jerusalem, to worship the King who will not be in Washington D.C., praise the Lord for that, or Brussels or any other Gentile city but He will be reigning in the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 And this is the 198 B.C. shift that I\u2019m talking about here.\u00a0 This is how, as Daniel is seeing it in verses 13-16, how these Seleucids finally got the upper hand and came into the land of Israel.\n\nAnd then backing up to verse 4 it says, \u201cin fulfillment of the vision.\u201d\u00a0 These various rulers are just stepping stones towards Antiochus Epiphanes who begins to be the subject of the Lord\u2019s prophecies beginning in verse 21.\u00a0 But they\u2019re just stepping stones to that.\u00a0 God knows exactly where history is headed and He allowed, at this time in history, around 198 B.C. for the king of the north or the Seleucids or those in Syria to get the upper hand because God knew who was coming through the Seleucid dynasty, Antiochus Epiphanes.\n\nWe come now to verse 17 and verse 17 the focus is Ptolemy V and Antiochus III.\u00a0 \u00a0Notice if you will what we have in verse 17 as these prophecies continue to come to Daniel.\u00a0 It says, \u201cHe shall set his face to enter with the strength of his own kingdom and upright ones with him; thus he shall do and he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or be for him.\u201d\u00a0 Now we continue to focus here on Antiochus III, how Antiochus III tried to regain control over Egypt.\u00a0 How did he do that?\u00a0 He gave his own daughter; the daughter\u2019s name was Cleopatra.\u00a0 He gave his own daughter to be married to Ptolemy V.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the history and this is what Daniel saw in advance.\u00a0 Once again, verse 17, \u201cHe shall give him the daughter of women to destroy\u201d it.\u00a0 He thought well, if I just marry off my daughter she\u2019s going to continue to be loyal to me in that empire and finally I will get the upper hand in Egypt.\n\nBut what happened is historically is Cleopatra was loyal to her husband, Ptolemy V, and not to her father, Antiochus III.\u00a0 Once she married into that family her loyalty switched to her husband and not to her father who married her off.\u00a0 And if you look at the end of verse 17 that\u2019s exactly what Daniel was talking about.\u00a0 \u201cBut she shall not stand with him nor be for him.\u201d\u00a0 I mean, it\u2019s just so interesting to me how Daniel could see these things all the way back in which year?\u00a0\u00a0 536 B.C.\u00a0 Remember I told\u00a0 you to memorize that.\u00a0 What is he seeing?\u00a0 Things happening in 203-182 B.C.\u00a0 He\u2019s seeing these things long in advance.\u00a0 That is the precision of Biblical prophecy.\n\nAnd then we come to verses 18 and 19 where the subject here is Antiochus III, sometimes called Antiochus the Great.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, verses 18-19, it says, \u201cAfterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and he shall take many.\u00a0 But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end and with the approach removed he shall return back on him.\u00a0 Then he shall turn his face towards the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and not be found.\u201d\n\nWhat happened historically?\u00a0 Antiochus III invaded Greece instead of being content with his past victories.\u00a0 Rome, who was just coming on the scene at this time, told Antiochus III to leave Greece alone.\u00a0 Antiochus III did not listen to Rome. \u00a0The Roman general Cornelius Scipio defeats Antiochus III.\u00a0 Antiochus III returns home and look at what it says here, in history, \u201che robbed the temple of Jupiter in order to address the issue of the depletion of funds because of the battle.\u201d\n\nLook at verse 19, I believe that\u2019s what\u2019s being described here. \u201cThen he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Now this depletion of funds and this raiding of the temple of Jupiter caused a rebellion leading to the death of Antiochus III and I believe that the death of Antiochus III is described right there in verse 19, towards the end, \u201c but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.\u201d\n\nAnd then we come to, and some of you are saying praise the Lord for this, the last verse in this very difficult, complicated history lesson, although this really isn\u2019t a history lesson when you think about it; it\u2019s a history lesson in advance.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you have in the Bible; you have history before it transpires.\u00a0 What a great thing to think about during the season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Think of how many prophecies the birth of Christ fulfilled.\u00a0 Micah 5:2, written 700 years in advance, that\u2019s a long time, seven hundred years; the United States of America has only been around 230 something years.\u00a0 This is more than double, almost triple the length of the\u00a0 United States of America. \u00a0Micah 5:2 pinpoints the exact city that the Messiah would be born in and you think it would be Jerusalem given the prominence of Jerusalem throughout the pages of the Old Testament.\u00a0 Micah says no, it\u2019s not going to be Jerusalem, it\u2019s going to be a little tiny city about two miles to the south of Jerusalem called Bethlehem.\u00a0 And by the way, it\u2019s Bethlehem of Ephrata distinguishing it from another Bethlehem in the Galilee area.\u00a0 That is an astounding, astounding prophecy written 700 years in advance.\u00a0 And lo and behold here at Christmas time the prophecy is fulfilled.\n\nI could give you countless prophecies like this.\u00a0 This is one of the characteristics of the Bible that makes it unique.\u00a0 You have absolutely nothing like this in any other alleged holy book.\u00a0 The Qu\u2019ran for example has nothing like this.\u00a0 This is unique to the Bible\u2026 prophecy!\u00a0 Not just prophecies yet to come, prophecies that you can document in history that have already been fulfilled.\n\nBut notice, if you will, verse 20 and the subject now is Seleucus IV and notice what verse 20 says, it\u2019s very interesting:\u00a0 \u201cThey shall arise in His place, one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom but within a few days he shall be destroyed.\u201d\u00a0 Look at this, \u201cnot in anger, nor in battle.\u201d\u00a0 Antiochus III was replaced by his son, Seleucus IV who was forced to pay tribute to Rome, which was now on the horizon.\u00a0 You know, there\u2019s a reason why your Bible talks about the taxes that were so exorbitant under Rome in the days of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s the history of the time period; Rome was known for its extravagant taxes.\u00a0 And those within the land of Israel, once Rome conquered the land of Israel, could go to work for Rome; they were called tax gatherers.\u00a0 And everything that they didn\u2019t collect for Rome, above and beyond that, they could reach into the people\u2019s pocketbooks (if they had pocketbooks back then) or wallets, you get the picture here, and extract from the people anything they wanted above and beyond what they got for Rome.\u00a0 And this is why tax gatherers, tax collectors in the land of Israel were hated, despised!\u00a0 They were looked at, number one, as traitors working for Rome and number 2, they were looked at as thieves.\n\nAnd who does Jesus Christ say in Luke 19, I\u2019m coming to your house for dinner tonight?\u00a0 Zacchaeus in the tree, a man that was so pushed out of society because of his detestable tax gathering practices He had to climb into a tree to just get a glimpse of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Tax gatherers were looked at in that society much like we would look at today abortionists, pornographers, the low of the low.\u00a0 Jesus says in Luke 19, I\u2019m coming to your house for dinner.\n\nAnd who is it that the Lord uses to record the opening book of the New Testament revealing the regal identity of Jesus Christ?\u00a0 None other than who?\u00a0 Matthew, the tax gatherer.\u00a0 I bring that up because a lot of people will say to themselves, I\u2019m outside of the grace of God, I\u2019m outside of the reach of God.\u00a0 You don\u2019t really understand my background, you don\u2019t understand my life, you don\u2019t understand the things that I\u2019ve done.\u00a0 Certainly God couldn\u2019t love me. Certainly God would not want a relationship with me.\u00a0 And the record of the Bible is the exact opposite; these are the people that Jesus Christ came for.\u00a0 No human being, regardless of what they have done in their lives is outside the reach and the grace of God.\u00a0 Maybe you find yourself in that category, thinking of yourself as unqualified for God\u2019s grace. Well guess what?\u00a0\u00a0 You are unqualified; that\u2019s what grace means\u2026 unmerited favor! \u00a0And yet in this Christmas season reflecting on the birth of Jesus Christ this is what Christ came to give to this wayward, wayward race.\n\nBack to verse 20, \u201cThere shall arise in his place one who opposes taxes on the glorious kingdom, but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.\u201d\u00a0 As we mentioned, Antiochus III was replaced by Seleucus IV, forced to pay tribute to Rome; he heavily taxed his own people in order to accomplish this.\u00a0 He became unpopular with his own people.\u00a0 Seleucus IV sent a tax collector named Heliodorus to Jerusalem who plundered treasure from the temple.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the facts of history indicate and that\u2019s what\u2019s being described right there in verse 20; \u201cThere shall arise in the place of one who opposes taxes on\u201d what? \u201cthe glorious kingdom.\u201d\n\nWhat would \u201cthe glorious kingdom\u201d be?\u00a0 It would be the land of Israel.\u00a0 Seleucus IV was poisoned by this tax collector.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to watch out for those tax collectors.\u00a0 Heliodorus returned and he poisoned the man who sent him to Jerusalem, Seleucus IV, resulting in a very short reign for Seleucus IV.\u00a0 And I believe that that is what is described at the end of verse 20, \u201c but within a few days,\u201d a short reign, see that? \u201che shall be destroyed,\u201d now when a king is destroyed you would think he would be destroyed in anger or in battle and Daniel specifically predicts that\u2019s not how he\u2019s going to be destroyed;\u00a0 \u201che shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.\u201d\u00a0 And the facts of history fit that perfectly as he was poisoned to death by his own tax collector.\u00a0 Seleucus IV disappears but what does all of this lead up to?\n\nNumber 7, Antiochus IV.\u00a0 Antiochus IV, whose name means God manifest, is the subject of Daniel\u2019s prophecies from verse 21 to verse 35, giving us the framework for understanding one of the most important holidays in Judaism, that is celebrated this time of the year, called what? Hanukkah, Feast of Lights, sometimes called Dedication.\u00a0 You know, the interesting thing about Israel is\u00a0 you can attack Israel all you want, but because that part of the world is holy unto God, because of the covenant that God gave to Abraham, not only will Israel survive the attack but she\u2019ll even get a holiday out of it.\n\nHaman developed a plot to wipe out the Jews and\u00a0 yet from that the nation of Israel survives, as recorded in the Book of Esther, and a holiday comes out of that, added to the seven holidays that the nation of Israel already had as articulated way back in the time of Moses, Leviticus 23; another holiday is added called Purim, Lots, celebrating the miraculous protection of the Hebrew people in the days of Esther.\n\nAnd what we\u2019re reading about here is another attack that this man, Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus IV, the one that history has been leading up to at this point in time, he will do virtually the same thing; he will launch a horrific wave of persecution against the nation of Israel. He will forbid them from using their Scriptures.\u00a0 He will try to humiliate them by sacrificing a pig in their temple.\u00a0 He will desecrate the temple.\u00a0 He will set up a giant pagan image in their temple, an image of Zeus.\n\nAnd yet what is going to happen is the nation of Israel is going to be strengthened and will, through what\u2019s called the Maccabean Revolt, liberate the temple from Seleucid rule.\u00a0 And that liberation is such a magnificent work of God that the nation of Israel now has a feast day that they commemorate this and celebrate it called Hanukkah.\n\nAnd you say well, you know, Andy, I\u2019m a Southern Baptist, what do you bother me with all this Jewish stuff for?\u00a0 The fact of the matter is Jesus Christ, God incarnate, in John 10:22 celebrated Hanukkah, Feast of Lights.\u00a0 Jesus recognized all these feasts and we\u2019re going to see the pretext for that feast as we move into verses 21-35 in our next time together, when we\u2019re in the Book of Daniel.\u00a0 And I wanted to save that unit for later; I wanted to spend the last two sermons going through some of the complicated history in verses 5-20.\u00a0 Everything that Daniel has said up to this point in time, as I\u2019ve tried to document, has been astounding accurate even though he\u2019s seeing these things centuries in advance.\u00a0\u00a0 And as I\u2019ll be continuing to show you that\u2019s exactly the truth related to Antiochus IV who provides the pretext and the background for Hanukkah, a holiday the nation of Israel celebrates this time of the year as well.\n\nBut let me conclude today by giving you as promised, five points of application from verses 5-20.\u00a0\u00a0 You might be listening to some of this history saying so what?\u00a0 What does it matter?\u00a0 How does studying this on Sunday help me on Monday?\u00a0\u00a0 So here we go.\n\nApplication number 1, and we\u2019ve already made reference to this, prophecy is proof of divine inspiration.\u00a0 We believe that the Bible was inspired by God.\u00a0 I come from a legal background, I can\u2019t just believe something because somebody told me it\u2019s true, I need some kind of evidence.\u00a0 And my, how we have evidence.\u00a0 One of the great testimonies or evidences that we have that the Bible is true is its capacity to predict things before they happen\u2014history in advance!\u00a0 Why can the Bible give us history in advance? \u00a0Why is it that I can read about the conglomeration of nations against Israel whether it be Turkey or Iran, or Russia, and we open up our newspapers and we see the big three (as I call them) constantly in conferences together, constantly in cahoots together.\u00a0 Constantly the leaders are together describing their plan for the world.\n\nWhy is it that I read that in my newspaper?\u00a0 And boy, my goodness, it sure sounds a lot like Ezekiel 38 and 39 to me.\u00a0 Why is it that we are catching up historically to a time period that the Bible predicted a long time ago would happen?\u00a0 Because of this capacity of the Scripture to reveal things before they happen.\u00a0 It is one of the great evidences that God has built into His Word.\u00a0 God does not expect you to believe something on blind faith.\u00a0 He gives us evidence.\u00a0 And one of the great evidences that He has given us is prophecy.\n\nIn Isaiah 48:3 it says this, God says, \u201cI declared the former things long ago and they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah 48:5, right after Isaiah 48:3 God says, \u201cTherefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, so that you would not say, \u2018My idol has done them, and my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 You idol worshipers, God says, let me show you how great I am in comparison to your idols; I\u2019m going to reveal things before they happen.\u00a0 And things that I\u2019m going to say are going to be of such precision that you will not be able to attribute them to your idol.\u00a0 You will not be able to attribute them to your palm reader.\u00a0 You will not be able to attribute them to your horoscope.\u00a0 You will not be able to attribute them to Nostradamus.\n\nYou know, Nostradamus and the things he said were so vague and general virtually anything could act as a fulfillment.\u00a0 Not so the Bible.\u00a0 You have precision, the precise city of Jesus Christ was revealed, Micah 5:2, 700 years in advance.\u00a0 The Qu\u2019ran will give you nothing like this.\u00a0 The Book of Mormon will give you nothing like this.\u00a0 You only find this in the Bible.\n\nJesus said this in the Upper Room, John 13:19, \u201cFrom now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus doesn\u2019t say just blindly believe Me because I claim to be God.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to give you some proof.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to start making some short term predictions, many of them involving My own betrayal.\u00a0 And in your lifetime, within a few days, you\u2019re going to start seeing these things happen, and therefore you will know My true identity.\n\nJohn 14:29, Jesus says virtually the same thing, \u201cNow I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.\u201d\u00a0 The ultimate goal of God revealing these things in advance is not to put on some kind of magic show; it is to inculcate faith, to get us to respond the only way you can respond to things of this nature, by understanding who God is and by trusting in Him.\n\nApplication number two, what is the real cause of war?\u00a0 What really causes war?\u00a0 What have we seen here in verses 5-20?\u00a0 One war after another.\u00a0 Have you ever asked yourself where does war come from?\u00a0 Mark 7:20-23, Jesus answered that question.\u00a0 He said, \u201cThat which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. [21] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, [22] deeds of coveting and<\/em> wickedness, as well<\/em> as<\/em> deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and<\/em> foolishness. [23] All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.\u201d\n\nIn this context the disciples are being criticized and Christ is being criticized based on what they eat.\u00a0 Jesus is very clear, it\u2019s not what you eat, it\u2019s not what comes into you that makes you unclean, it\u2019s what comes out of you, because the reality of the situation is ever since the sin in the\u00a0 Garden of Eden every single human being, with the exception of Christ Himself, who was born of a virgin, is born into the world with a nature that hates God.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to teach myself to sin; sin comes naturally to me because of the wickedness of my own heart.\n\nJames 4:1-2 says, What is the source of quarrels and conflicts\u201d wars, \u201camong you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?\u00a0 [2] You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.\u201d\u00a0 Why is human history so littered with bloodshed?\u00a0 Why are all of these prophecies dealing with one war after another?\u00a0 Because war is in man\u2019s heart; that is the natural state of the human heart without God.\n\nThis is why back in Daniel 9:26 it says this: \u201c\u2026even to the end there will be war, desolations are determined,\u201d the normal circumstance of human events is war.\u00a0 What\u2019s abnormal is times of peace, because war is something that is part of us because of original sin.\u00a0 It emanates from the heart.\u00a0 This is why the Book of Proverbs, chapter 4 and verse 23 says, \u201cKeep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.\u201d\n\nThink if Cain, all the way back in Genesis 4:7, when he was being tempted to murder his brother Abel, and the Lord said to him sin is desiring\u00a0 you but you must conquer it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Genesis 4:7 \u201c\"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.\u201d]\u00a0 Cain, you\u2019ve got to get control of your heart because if you don\u2019t get control of your heart what? \u00a0Private thoughts are going to lead to what?\u00a0 Public actions.\u00a0 Think of O.J. Simpson, for example, had sort of, in that moment of rage had monitored himself, had gotten into the Word of God, had received biblical counseling, and he curbed his desire, his murderous rage for revenge, think how different his life would be today.\n\nAnd this is what the Holy Spirit is saying to some of us as I talk; watch your heart!\u00a0 Watch the thing that you\u2019re contemplating, watch the things that you\u2019re ruminating on because private thoughts, private motives will quickly lead to public actions.\u00a0 This is why the gospel is all about the change of heart in people.\u00a0 2 Peter 1:5 says, \u201cFor by these He has granted to us precious and magnificent promises so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.\u201d\u00a0 What does God want to do to people?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t want to clean them up from the outside in. \u00a0He wants to change their heart!\u00a0 In fact, what He wants to do is He wants to give them a new heart or a new nature.\u00a0 The Book of Titus calls this regeneration.\n\nTitus 3:5, \u201cHe saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,\u201d you know what that word \u201cregeneration\u201d means when you actually study it?\u00a0 Palingenesias<\/em>; \u00a0<\/em>palin<\/em> means again and you recognize genesia<\/em> from the Book of Genesis, the Book of Beginnings. What is regeneration?\u00a0 It is a new, it is again, a beginning, a beginning new, not by something we do, that\u2019s what the religious world promotes, do this, do that, follow this creed, follow that creed.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t Christianity.\u00a0 Christianity God says I\u2019m going to give you a new heart and a new nature, in fact, I\u2019m going to so supernaturally touch you that I will actually change you from the inside out.\n\nJesus, in His conversation with Nicodemus, John 3, I call that Nick at night, called this the new birth, regeneration\u2014beginning again.\u00a0 If a person never receives that new nature this internal transformation, the only thing they\u2019re stuck with is the warlike nature of their Adamic heart, their natural condition in Adam.\u00a0 What a great thing it would be during this time period when we celebrate Christmas to receive that new nature from God., which you can do right now as I\u2019m talking.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m not finished with the sermon yet, but you can receive it right now as I\u2019m talking, where you simply respond by way of faith to what Jesus has done.\u00a0 Not only are your sins forgiven but at the moment of faith you\u2019re transformed from the inside out.\n\nWe\u2019re not here teaching get your flesh under control and clean yourself up and come to Jesus.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the gospel at all.\u00a0 The gospel at all.\u00a0 The gospel is come to Jesus on HIS terms, faith alone, trust in what He has done.\u00a0 And then the resources greater than yourself will come inside of you.\u00a0 That is the only answer to this war torn world that we find ourselves in, is the condition of the human heart has to be changed through regeneration, beginning again, the new birth, becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus, 2 Corinthians 5:17.\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 5:17, \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is<\/em> a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.\u201d]\n\nWithout that wars are determined.\u00a0 Wars and conflict between nations, between people, between church members, between family members, just go on and on and on.\n\nApplication number three, earthly riches can be lost.\u00a0 Did you catch Daniel 11:8, \u201cHe shall carry their\u201d goods, their \u201cgods\u201d rather (which really are their goods) \u201ccaptive to Egypt with their princes, and their precious articles of silver and gold,\u201d there\u2019s coming a time, Daniel says, in the course of these battles that your gold and your silver and your 401K Plan, which is now probably a 201K plan, and your bank account and your social security, it\u2019s all depleted.\u00a0 The interesting thing about worldly wealth is you can have it one day and the next day it\u2019s gone.\n\nIt says at the beginning of verse 20, there shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes (what steals wealth greater than that) on His glorious kingdom.\u00a0 [ Daniel 11:20, \u201cThen in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle.\u201d]\u00a0 What are these passages telling us.\u00a0 You can have worldly wealth one day and the next day it\u2019s gone.\n\nAnd how the Bible warns us over and over again not to despise wealth but not to look at wealth as some sort of god;\u00a0 your job is not\u00a0 your provider\u2014God is your provider!\u00a0 He can use your job to provide it if He wants.\u00a0 Your retirement plan is not your provider, God is your provider.\u00a0 The stock market is not\u00a0 your provider, God is your provider.\u00a0 The new tax bill that\u2019s going through is not your provider, (maybe that\u2019s going to turn the economy around) God is your provider.\u00a0 God can use any of these things He wants but the ultimate provider is God.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you can live in a world where one day you can have wealth, the next day it\u2019s gone and your joy never changes because your provision never came from those things to begin with.\u00a0 Amen!\n\nJesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,\u201d I might add where inflation destroys, \u201cand where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on and He says, \u201cfor where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.\u201d\u00a0 If you see God as your provider your heart is with God.\u00a0 If you see some sort of inanimate object as your provider your heart is with that inanimate object.\n\n1 Timothy 6:7 says for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we\u2019ll carry nothing out. [\u201cFor we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.\u201d]\u00a0 I have never seen a U-Haul truck attached to a hearse.\n\n1 Timothy 6:17 says, \u201cCommand those who are rich in the present age\u2026\u201d who are rich, rich people, people that have resources above and beyond the necessities of life, people in this country don\u2019t feel they are rich but they are compared to the world standards.\u00a0 There\u2019s some instructions here for us, \u201cCommand those who are rich in the present age not to be haughty,\u201d that means arrogant, you know nothing lifts people up more with pride than an increase in their income.\u00a0 In fact, I didn\u2019t bring the statistics with me but you can demonstrate that as a person receives a higher income the chance for infidelity in their marriage increases as well.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting how having a little bit more money this year than we had last year makes us think that we can get away with things.\u00a0 That\u2019s haughtiness; it\u2019s arrogance.\n\n\u201cCommand those who are rich in the present age not to be haughty\u201d watch this, \u201cnor to trust in uncertain riches\u201d why would I not trust in riches?\u00a0 Because they\u2019re uncertain; the economy is uncertain, the future of America is\u00a0 uncertain, the stock market is uncertain, the interest rate is uncertain, the price of gold is uncertain.\u00a0 It\u2019s all uncertain1!\u00a0 \u201c\u2026nor to trust in uncertain riches but in\u201d who? \u201cin the living God.\u201d\u00a0 Why would I trust in dead metal when I can trust in the God who formed me, created me, redeemed me and is alive.\u00a0 And by the way, I like this little clause here, \u201cwho gives us richly all things to enjoy.\u201d\u00a0 I used to think it was God\u2019s goal for my life to be poor; that\u2019s not necessarily true either.\u00a0 Material things are not the problem; it\u2019s okay to enjoy the material things as God gives and God blesses.\u00a0 The issue is not do you own money but does your money own you; that\u2019s the issue!\u00a0 \u00a0And so application number 3 is earthly riches can be lost.\n\nApplication number 4, political leaders come and go.\u00a0 I mean, isn\u2019t that what we\u2019ve seen here, verses 5-20, is one leader is replaced by another leader is replaced by another leader is replaced by another leader. What is the Holy Spirit saying to us through these things?\u00a0 Don\u2019t trust in political leaders.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just be honest, I like our President, I\u2019ll put my cards on the table, I voted for our President, but it disturbs me to some extent to see a mindset in the body of Christ developing where we think that the current President of the United States is some kind of savior.\u00a0 It bothers me to some extent when I\u2019m around fellow Christians who won\u2019t even entertain without some kind of angry refutation, they won\u2019t even entertain criticism of the current President of the United States.\n\nThat mindset bothers me.\u00a0 And the reason that it bothers me is I start to think what are people trusting in here?\u00a0 What are people hoping in?\u00a0 I saw a book title about a year or two ago by one of my conservative authors, favorite conservative authors, the title of it bothered me so much I\u2019m not buying another book that this person ever writes.\u00a0 The title of the book is In Trump We Trust<\/em>.\u00a0 Folks, I like the guy, I pray for him, he\u2019s my President, I think generally he\u2019s doing a good job, that\u2019s just my opinion, but he is no savior to anybody.\u00a0 Jesus is\u00a0 your Savior!\u00a0 Jesus is your salvation!\u00a0 Jesus is the living God!\n\nIn fact, there\u2019s such a very interesting Scripture in the Book of Isaiah, where the children of Israel are carrying around those idols and God says to the children of Israel, are those idols getting heavy in your hands?\u00a0 Do you know the day is going to come when you are going to get old and you\u2019re not even going to have enough strength to carry around this stupid piece of metal, that statue?\u00a0 In fact, what you\u2019re going to need is someone to carry you around.\u00a0 That\u2019s the foolishness of idolatry, carrying around these things, these things we trust in, when the reality is the day is going to come when we\u2019re not going to be able to carry anything.\u00a0 As old age progresses we\u2019re going to need someone to pick us up and carry us around.\n\nDaniel 2:44 tells us where our hope should be.\u00a0 It says, \u2018And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but<\/em> it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.\u201d [KJV]\u00a0 \u00a0That\u2019s the only political ideology and world order I want to be a part of.\u00a0 That\u2019s my hope.\u00a0 How about you?\n\nHebrews 12:28 says, \u201cTherefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken,\u201d the economy can be shaken, the stock market can be shaken, we, as God\u2019s children \u201care receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.\u201d\u00a0 [KJV]\n\nTitus 2:13, \u201cLooking for the blessed hope\u201d which is what?\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to get the right political party in power\u2026 NO, \u201cLooking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 [KJV]\n\nFolks, political leaders are going to come and they\u2019re going to go.\u00a0 Some may be better than others but the fact of the matter is every single one of them is tainted by the exact sin nature that humanity as a whole is tainted by.\n\nAnd the last point of application is this, and with this we\u2019re finished.\u00a0 God is faithful to His people.\u00a0 Look at this warfare going back and forth for 150 years, an endless cycle, and yet through it all what is God going to do?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to remember and execute exactly what He said regarding Israel, even though they are in unbelief and unfaithful.\n\n2 Timothy 2:13 says, \u201cIf we are faithless\u201d God cuts the cord and kicks us out of the family\u2026 it doesn\u2019t say that does it.\u00a0 \u201cIf we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.\u201d\n\nLet me let you in on something, what got you saved is the grace of God.\u00a0 Most Christians understand that but they get deluded into thinking, because of pride and works righteousness, that somehow I\u2019ve got to keep myself saved.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to do X, Y and Z or stay away from X, Y and Z to keep myself in the grace of God.\u00a0 Well guess what just happened there\u2026 you just became your own savior.\u00a0 You are now responsible, in your way of thinking, for retaining your salvation.\u00a0 That is now how grace works.\u00a0 Good works don\u2019t get you in the front door; good works don\u2019t keep you once you get in.\u00a0 Who keeps you is the power and the preservation of God, which is yours by way of grace.\n\nWell, pastor, wait a minute now, you\u2019re down on good works?\u00a0 I\u2019m about as pro good works as you could get with the right motive.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t do good works because you\u2019re trying to keep yourself saved.\u00a0 You do good works as a Christian out of worship, out of gratitude, because you can\u2019t believe the grace package that\u2019s been given to you.\u00a0 You start to understand that I didn\u2019t get saved by works; I\u2019m not kept by works.\u00a0 Well, what else can I do?\u00a0 If the carpet is not going to be ripped out from under me what else can I do but offer my body to God as a living sacrifice.\u00a0 To pay Him back?\u00a0 NO! To keep myself saved?\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 Out of worship.\u00a0 The Apostle Paul calls this a \u201creasonable service.\u201d\u00a0 [Romans 12:1, \u201cI beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is<\/em> your reasonable service.\u201d KJV]\n\nI fear this, I really do, I fear this in my own mind, I fear this in the body of Christ, that there\u2019s a lot of people out there doing a bunch of things for God with the completely wrong motive.\u00a0 We have to look at our hearts very carefully.\u00a0 So a very interesting history lesson, wouldn\u2019t you agree.\u00a0 And the application, prophecy is divine inspiration, the real cause of war is the human heart, earthly riches can be lost, political leaders come and go, so keep an eye on that eternal kingdom which is just on the horizon, which cannot be shaken and God is faithful to His people.\n\nIt may be that you\u2019re here today for the first time listening online, and you\u2019ve never been internally transformed; you\u2019ve never experienced the revolution from within, the new birth, regeneration.\u00a0 And our admonition, our exhortation here at Sugar Land Bible Church is to receive that, right now, as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 How do you get it?\u00a0 You simply trust, which means to rely upon, depend upon, to believe in what Jesus has done for you.\u00a0 Not only are your sins forgiven, past, present and future, but the Holy Spirit comes inside of\u00a0 you and starts to renew you, not from the outside in but from the inside out.\u00a0 It\u2019s not something you have to raise a hand to do, join a church to do, walk an aisle to do, give money to do; it\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord, where you respond by faith in what he\u2019s done.\u00a0 And you can do that right now as I\u2019m talking.\u00a0\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation of I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray; Father, we\u2019re grateful for this prophetic record, now historical from our vantage point of warfare, and the things that it teaches us.\u00a0 I ask that You\u2019ll be with us as we continue to move through the Book of Daniel.\u00a0 Be with us next week as we celebrate the birth of Your Son.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, 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