North vs. South (day 1) Daniel 11:1-20

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much of the Bible is fulfilled prophecy the majority of the Bible has already come true there are nations of the world that were predicted to come into existence and to be destroyed before they ever existed there are many examples of that Another example would be the first coming of Christ. There are at least 300 prophecies about His first coming, all of which are obviously already fulfilled. The Bible is filled with fulfilled prophecy. It also contains unfulfilled prophecy. In Daniel you have both. What we’re going to look at is fulfilled prophecy. It wasn’t fulfilled in Daniel’s day, but it was before the time of Christ.

SPEAKER 04 : 1:06

This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author, David Hawking. Today, we’re opening a new chapter in our study of the book of Daniel. In chapter 11, we step into one of the most detailed and precise prophetic passages in the entire Bible. It’s a sweeping forecast of global politics. Kings from the North and South battling for power, all foretold centuries before it happened. But this isn’t just history. It’s a window into how God moves behind the scenes of world events and sets the stage for what’s still to come. Stay with us. Day one of our message called North versus South begins in just a moment. First, Matt, folks here say this often, the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. And we say that for a reason, because the Bible is the one source of truth that will never, ever fail you. Amen. And our listener letter today reflects that. This is from Linda, and she listens on ACN. The wonderful folks up there, Tom Reed and his crew.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:14

That’s right. What does she have to say? And she says, I’m writing to you to let you know I listen to you on ACN in Washington State, Tri-Cities. I enjoy your messages because you tell the truth about the Bible and Jesus’ word. Amen, amen. Is that amazing? Amen. Folks, I said it before, the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:34

If that’s your heart and your passion and you’d like to share a comment with us, a testimony, maybe even a prayer request, get in touch and we’ll tell you just about later how to do that. Well, now here’s David with day one of North vs. South.

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Daniel chapter 11, the opening 20 verses. Daniel chapter 11. In the third century A.D., a heathen philosopher by the name of Pophiri attacked the book of Daniel as a forgery. He confirmed that the history of this chapter was amazingly accurate and could only have been written after the events recorded. Church history has fostered his opinion. And up until the 20th century, very few people believed that the person who wrote the book of Daniel chapter 11 in fact existed long before the events recorded ever came to pass. It is indeed a miraculous chapter. In 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Today fragments of those manuscripts, a portion of every book of the Old Testament with the exception of Esther, can be found in Israel’s famous shrine, the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. The most famous scroll is a copy of Isaiah, which is encased in a beautiful glass case in the center of that shrine. But all around in the various rooms of that museum, you can find manuscripts of the Old Testament. Again, as I said previously, out of every book except Esther. How fascinating it is to go and examine the manuscript of Daniel. The first thing that we notice about the Dead Sea Scrolls is the amazing comparison of those manuscripts some 200 years before Christ. in comparison to our Bibles today. The Hebrew of the Bible today, though it has some consonant markings, vowel markings we’d say on the consonants, caused by the Masoretic text of 900 A.D., though it has that, the actual letters in consonant are the same as we see in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The preservation of the Old Testament text is indeed a miracle of God’s preservation. Well, when you realize that all kinds of dating methods have been applied to the Dead Sea Scrolls, and that they know those scrolls were in existence at least 200 years before Christ, we once again are faced with the problem of Daniel 11. We now know that a manuscript of Daniel 11 was in existence at least 200 years before Christ. And the events of Daniel 11 take us down past that point in history. It’s indeed amazing. Daniel lived in the 6th century B.C. and recorded events as he lived from the Babylonian Empire to the beginning of the Medo-Persian Empire and recorded events about an empire called Greece that hadn’t yet come into power and about the breakup of the Grecian Empire into four divisions and about the struggle of the north and south divisions of Israel fighting over the land of Israel. It’s indeed an amazing prophecy. We call it North versus South. Follow along, please, in your Bible as I read. Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him. As we indicated in our last message, that verse really belongs with chapter 10. It’s referring to the Messiah, the Son of Man, the one clothed in linen, who also was behind the work of Michael the archangel, the prince of Israel, who fought for Israel. He was encouraged and strengthened by the Messiah. Verse 2, “‘And now I will tell you the truth.'” “‘Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all. By his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Mind you, Greece is not yet in existence, neither are these kings in Persia. Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will.’ And when he is arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled. For his kingdom shall be uprooted even for others besides these. Then the king of the south shall become strong as well as one of his princes, and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the south shall go to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand. But she shall be given up with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. But from a branch of her roots, one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the north, and deal with them and prevail. And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt with their princes and their precious articles of silver and gold. And he shall continue more years than the king of the north.” Then the king of the north shall come to the kingdom of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land. However, his sons shall stir up strife and assemble a multitude of great forces, and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through. Then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife. And the king of the south shall be moved with rage and go out and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.” When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. For the king of the north will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. It sounds like as the world turns, doesn’t it? And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south. Also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come and build a siege mound and take a fortified city and the forces of the south shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.” But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his power. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him. Thus shall he do, and he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it. But she shall not stand with him or before him. After this, he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end. And with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and not be found. There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom, but with a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.” Now in our next message, we’ll take up verse 21 to 35, when we will learn about Antiochus the Epiphanes, who is a symbol, a historical symbol of the Antichrist himself. So what the Bible is doing is setting this up. After we look at Antiochus, beginning with verse 36, if you’ll just take a glance at it, it says the king will do according to his own will. A willful king, who in fact is the Antichrist, will be discussed. And the prophecies that relate to a day future to ours is going to be discussed at the end of chapter 11. So the whole thing is a panoramic look of history from the time of Daniel in the Babylonian Empire, now Medo-Persia taking over, Cyrus the good king allows the Jews to return to the land, and Daniel as an old man receives a vision that takes him all the way to the end of time and God setting up his kingdom. It’s indeed an amazing vision. I draw you back, please, to chapter 10. In chapter 10, that is where Daniel receives the vision. And it’s in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, according to verse 1. And we are told this vision focuses on the Messiah, but it does not end until the end of days. Turn to chapter 12, please. In chapter 12, Daniel says, although I heard, verse 8, I did not understand. Then I said, my Lord, speaking to the man clothed in linen that he saw in chapter 10, what shall be the end of these things? That is the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. And then he discusses what’s going to happen. It says in verse 12, Daniel, you’re going to die. You’ve seen all of this. You’re not going to experience it until the end. But the good news, Daniel, is you’re going to be resurrected to enjoy the benefits. Amen? And that’s what I call a good deal. put him to sleep, don’t have any of the pain, and arise to all the glory. Praise God. What a neat thing. Let’s ask the Lord to guide us through this chapter. Father, we pray that you will give us insight and wisdom and help us to see that your Word is absolutely accurate and totally reliable. And may somebody here flee to the Savior quickly, understanding that this is the Word of God, and all of it will come to pass exactly as it was predicted. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. There are two kinds of prophecy, fulfilled prophecy and unfulfilled prophecy. You say, how do you know that the fulfilled prophecy is prophecy? And that is a matter of dating. When we see a given book, understand its history and its time, and then understand the prophecies that are in it as to when they are to take place, that’s how we discuss whether or not it’s prophetic or not. It’s prophetic if it did not occur in his time, but is predicted in a future time. And much of the Bible is fulfilled prophecy. The majority of the Bible has already come true. There are nations of the world that were predicted to come into existence and to be destroyed before they ever existed. There are many examples of that. Another example would be the first coming of Christ. There are at least 300 prophecies about His first coming, all of which are obviously already fulfilled. The Bible is filled with fulfilled prophecy. It also contains unfulfilled prophecy. In Daniel you have both. What we’re going to look at is fulfilled prophecy. It wasn’t fulfilled in Daniel’s day, but it was before the time of Christ. Now, it’s a little difficult to know how to handle this. I have studied it in some detail, and I can tell you frankly, I’m amazed how every single phrase of the Bible section in Daniel 11 is exactly accurate with history. Every phrase. So I don’t know how to do this. First of all, if I do this like I studied it, we’ll be out about two in the morning. So what I thought I would do is ask you to watch your Bible as we run through this passage, and I’m going to tell you the story of this passage as you watch your Bible. And I hope it will be a blessing to you. It’s just a little different way of approaching it. If you want an outline, I guess the best way we could put it together would be in the first four verses you have a background behind these conflicts, both as it relates to Persia, verse 1 and 2, and Greece in verse 3 and 4. From verse 5 to verse 20, you have the battles of the north and the south. In verses 5 to 9, you have the power of the south. when you come to verse 10 down to verse 20, you have the prominence of the north. And that’s the simplest outline I can give you. So let’s back up and take a look at the background for these conflicts, primarily looking at verses 2 to 4. You watch your Bible. The three kings who would arise are Cambyses, Pseudo-Smyrdas, and Darius I, called Histopes. The next monarch, who is the fourth one, was Xerxes I. You’ll find him interesting, not only because he was fabulously wealthy, but because he was also the husband of Esther. Remember that book? And he used his treasures, according to history, to maintain a huge army and made an expedition against Greece. Now, folks, the information that I’m giving you is coming out of ancient history. And it is fascinating as you compare it with the Scriptures. What the Bible says in Daniel chapter 11 is that the fourth king will be far richer than the first three. And those who follow Cyrus are exactly three in number, exactly the way the Bible said. Cambyses, Pseudo-Smyrtis, and Darius-Histisipes. Now, when you look at the next one, it’s Xerxes I, who is obviously known for his fabulous wealth, and he developed a huge army and made an expedition against Greece. One of you might be asking, well, how do you know all this? Well, number one, I’ve studied it in commentaries, but number two, it was my pleasure to take an entire course in my collegiate days on this subject and be required to learn it verbatim. And it was fascinating because at the time I had very little understanding of how that would relate to biblical history. But understanding all of this from ancient Near Eastern Grecian history, we have easily verifiable. And when you take those facts and compare it with the Scripture, it’s astounding. And that’s why so many men will not believe that Daniel 11 was in existence before the facts. They don’t understand how it could be. We understand because it’s the Word of God. It’s prophecy. Now the interesting thing is Xerxes I, the husband of Esther, took four years to gather an army of, you ready for this, hundreds of thousands. It was no small army. Some say it got up to a million soldiers. He launched what was a disastrous campaign against Greece in 480 B.C. Now, Alexander the Great is obviously the mighty king who’s going to rise in Greece in verse 3. He began his campaigns in 334 B.C. and died in 323 B.C. In a matter of 11 and 12 years, he conquered every part of the world that was known to be inhabited and to be a threat. He conquered it all and literally died disappointed that he had no one else to fight. The empire of Alexander the Great, listen carefully, according to history, was not inherited by his sons or his relatives. What does the Bible say? Look at it carefully in verse 4. It was not among his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled. The empire was not inherited by his sons or his relatives, but was literally seized by his generals after his death. It was divided between four men. Their names are Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. Now, Seleucus is the king of the north. He took over all of Syria and portions of Iraq, what we know as Turkey today. And the south, Ptolemy, took over Egypt. And they’re going to battle. Why does the focus come to those two men and not on all four generals? Because God’s focus is on the land of Israel. God’s eye, the apple of his eye, are the people of Israel. So what is happening to Israel, who’s caught in between the king of the north and the king of the south, is the reason why this historical section is there. And it’s building up to teach us something about the future attack on the nation of Israel. So you will see that Seleucus, the king of the north, and Ptolemy, the king of the south, they become names for dynasties. And they have other names. There are several Ptolemies. There are several Seleucids. And when you look at this, it’s amazing the detail of the scripture.

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That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this, this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment or so to close out our time in God’s Word. Some additional teaching is just ahead, so stay right there. First, Matt Hawking is joining me, and Matt, we’ve got a great resource that may just give folks a whole new outlook on the book of Revelation. Let’s talk about it.

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Is it possible to understand the book of Revelation? Yes. Which view of the end times is correct? When will Jesus come again? These are just a few of the questions tackled in Revelation, Understanding the Future. Matt, this is a hardbound book by your dad, David Hawking, and it’s excellent and so very helpful to have on hand as we begin a series in the book of Revelation called Later this month. You know, Jim, you can open the book. You can easily locate any particular passage in Revelation that you might want to study in the easy-to-follow table of contents, which lists the chapter and verses covered in each section, along with a perfect descriptive title. If there’s a section that’s baffling to you or, well, a bit complex. Or simply something you’d like to study more in depth. Yeah. Perhaps teach others. Yeah, exactly.

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Well, go to the table of contents, locate the section, head over to it, and you’ll see the text of that passage, along with cross-references, outlines, David’s insights, explanations, and applications.

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All designed to help you understand the book of Revelation. That’s it. This is exciting. It’s a marvelous study that gives us hope for the future. Revelation, understanding the future is normally $25, but this month, $25. We have it for you at just 20 bucks. And Matt, we also have your dad’s sermon notes and outlines for the upcoming Revelation series. Order them now and you’ll be ready to go for the start of the series. You can download them or purchase a PDF CD either way. Either way. Just $10. And what a wonderful tool they’ll be helping you to get the very most of our daily study time in Revelation. Call us to order 1-800-75-BIBLE. Bible by the numbers is 24253. In Canada, call 1-888-75BIBLE or at davidhawking.org.

SPEAKER 04 : 21:44

Well, I also want to let you know about something you’ve got to get your hands on. It’s David’s complete MP3 audio series in the book of Daniel. Now, you might recall that we’re currently in a series, a radio series on the book of Daniel. And this is the complete collection of all 17 messages on MP3, and the price, it’s just $30. Now, this isn’t fluff. It’s straight up, no-nonsense teaching that walks you through every chapter of Daniel, unpacking prophecy, history, and what it all means for the future. Again, 17 messages in the series, 17 messages in the pack, all for just $30 on MP3. To order, give us a call at 1-800-75-BIBLE if you’re in the U.S. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE or check us out online at davidhawking.org. And one more quick note just before David returns. Let me ask you something, and this is very, very important. If this broadcast… Hope for Today has helped you stay grounded in the Word of God. And if it’s been part of your spiritual growth, would you consider helping us stay strong? First of all, we need your prayers. Would you pray faithfully every day for Hope for Today? And then consider sending a financial donation as well. We’re not funded by any big organization. Our support comes from people, people like you, who believe that the Bible still matters and that it needs to be taught lovingly but without apology. If that’s you, you can write to Hope for Today at Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. Send your donation by mail that way. Or in Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7Oaks.com. Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Your support helps us keep going and keeps the teaching going out. You can also make your donation by phone at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and of course online securely at davidhawking.org.

SPEAKER 01 : 23:58

Let’s get back to our study. Thanks for listening to Hope for Today. We’re right in Chapter 11, a tremendous chapter about the history of ancient times, and it’s North versus South, and we don’t mean the Civil War. Well, in the opening verses of chapter 11, you have background for these conflicts, and there are two ancient kingdoms and countries we need to remember. One is Persia. That’s in the background of the book of Daniel. And there are three kings who will arise, and it’s Cambyses and Pseudo-Smyrdas and Darius Histopes. The next monarch was Xerxes. Xerxes I, who was the husband of Hadassah or Esther, fabulously wealthy and used his treasures to maintain a huge army and made an expedition against Greece. Xerxes took four years to to gather an army of hundreds of thousands and launched his disastrous campaign against Greece in 480 BC. And speaking of Greece, well, the empire of Alexander the Great was not inherited by his sons or relatives, but by four generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy. And these kingdoms were not nearly as strong as the kingdom of Alexander the Great. Well, we sure appreciate you all. Thank you for listening to Hope for Today, and I hope you can be with us for our next broadcast.

SPEAKER 04 : 25:50

Well, thank you, David. And on our next broadcast, the power plays escalate, the alliances shift, and a ruler rises with dark intent. Daniel 11 is quite literally a blueprint for the future, political maneuvering, broken treaties, and a shadow that points to the Antichrist himself. This is prophecy that demands attention, and we’ll give it that attention when you join us tomorrow on Hope for Today.