In Daniel 11, we encounter war, persecution, suffering, and rulers who seem to have enormous power. But the chapter ultimately reminds us that difficult seasons are not new, and we are not the first generation to face uncertainty, injustice, or opposition. As Christians, we can learn from Scripture and from history so that we don’t become convinced that our particular cultural moment is the first or final crisis the world has ever seen. Daniel 11 ends with a powerful reminder that earthly power is temporary and that God remains sovereign. There are real problems in our world, and we are called to work for good—but we can do that with hope rather than fear. Turn off the television, step away from the Internet, take a walk, read your Bible, remember the faithfulness of God throughout history, and trust that ultimately, it’s going to be okay.
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Well, good morning, friends. It’s good to be with you on this Thursday morning as we continue together in our time in Daniel.
Today we’re in Daniel 11, which means we have two more days. Tomorrow we’ll finish Daniel, and then I need to figure out where we’re going next.
I’m thinking about the New Testament. I always love the Gospels. I’ve done Romans before, but it’s been a while. So if there’s a New Testament book you’d like me to study with you, send me a message, comment below, or if you get this through email, just reply to the email. I’d love your feedback.
But we’ll start a New Testament book on Monday.
Now, Daniel 11 is a long chapter. It’s 45 verses, and I’m not going to read all 45 of them to you.
The first part of the prophecy gets into a lot of the history involving the kings of the North and South, particularly the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Greece. And then, beginning around verse 21, the focus really turns toward Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
He is the ruler we’ve talked about before—the one who desecrated the temple, stopped the regular worship, and set up what Daniel calls “the abomination that makes desolate.”
And that desecration of the temple is one of the things that helped spark the Maccabean revolt.
The Maccabees eventually rebelled against the Greeks, drove them out for a period of time, and restored worship in the temple. That period of Jewish independence is connected to the origins of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah, by the way, is not one of the biblical festivals commanded in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from this later historical period, remembering the rededication of the temple.
And Daniel 11 tells us about some incredibly difficult things. There is war, persecution, desecration, suffering, and people who remain faithful in the middle of it all.
But I want you to notice how the chapter ends.
Verse 45 says that this great king will come to his end—and no one will help him.
I think there are two things here that are important for us to keep in our hearts.
The first is this:
There are always going to be difficult times.
There are always going to be difficult seasons.
There is always going to be injustice in the world. There are always going to be people who misuse power. There are always going to be struggles and trials and difficulties.
Jesus himself says that the poor will always be with us. That particular statement is not about this passage, but the larger point is true: we live in a world where difficult things happen.
I was having a conversation with a young man yesterday about faith, and I told him something I really believe.
I never want the church to be swayed too strongly by the cultural winds of the moment.
Because every cultural moment will tell you:
“This is the most important moment in the history of the church.”
“This is the moment.”
“This is the issue.”
“If we get this wrong, everything is going to fall apart.”
And you know what?
We’ve had the most important moment in the history of the church for two thousand years.
Every generation has had its crisis.
Every generation has had its struggles.
Every generation has faced cynicism toward leadership. Every generation has faced trials. Every generation has faced persecution.
And honestly, when you read Daniel 11, the suffering some of these people endured was far beyond anything most of us will ever experience.
People suffered terribly. They remained faithful in the midst of tremendous pressure.
So one of the reasons we need to read our Bibles—and one of the reasons we need to know history—is so that we don’t fall victim to the naivete that we are the first people who have ever dealt with difficult things.
We’re not.
We’re not.
We’re not.
We’re not.
We are not the first generation to face hard times.
And we won’t be the last.
So that’s the first thing.
The second thing is this:
Look how it ends.
This great king who sets himself against God, who desecrates the temple, who thinks he can stand against everything sacred—what happens to him?
He comes to his end.
And no one is there to help him.
It doesn’t end well for him.
And I think there’s something comforting in that.
Because sometimes we can look around at the world and think, “How is this ever going to work out?”
And I want to remind you today:
It’s going to be okay.
Seriously.
It’s going to be okay.
Now, does that mean there aren’t real problems?
No.
There are real problems.
There are real injustices.
There are real things we need to address.
There are real people who need our help.
So I’m not saying, “Ignore everything and pretend everything is fine.”
I’m saying, we don’t have to live as though everything depends upon us.
Because sometimes I think our cultural moment has one great purpose: to make us anxious and fearful about everything.
And Scripture tells us something different.
Yes, there are difficult things.
Yes, we have work to do.
So do the work.
Work for good.
Love your neighbor.
Care for people.
Stand for what is right.
But have hope in your eyes while you do it.
Because God is still God.
We’re not the first generation to face difficult times.
We won’t be the last.
And God was present in the past, and God is present now.
So turn off the television.
Get off the Internet.
Go outside.
Go for a walk.
Take a deep breath.
Read your Bible.
Read some history.
Remember that the world has been through difficult seasons before—and God has been faithful through all of them.
And then go back to work.
Work for good.
Love people.
Have hope.
Because God’s appointed time will come, and God will work all things according to God’s purposes.
So, friends, whatever you’re facing today, remember:
It’s going to be okay.
Really.
It’s going to be okay.
Have a great day, and I’ll see you tomorrow as we wrap up our time in Daniel.
Thanks.