I'm going to preach a sermon tonight called "Rightly Dividing the Book of Daniel."
The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2.15, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
And there are a lot of ways that we need to rightly divide the Bible.
For example, some things in the Bible are literal and others are figurative.
We want to make sure that we rightly divide those things.
Also, when we read the Bible, some things are being spoken by God, who never makes a
mistake, who always speaks the truth, and then other things in the Bible are spoken
by human beings who could say things that are wrong.
Even the devil himself is quoted in the Bible.
And one of the key things when it comes to Old Testament Bible prophecy is that we need
to rightly divide between that which has already happened and that which is still going to
happen.
Now when we're in the book of Revelation, it's a lot easier because the vast majority
of what's in Revelation is still going to happen in the future and that's very obvious.
But in the book of Daniel, it becomes more difficult to figure out what has already happened
versus what is going to happen in the future.
And that's what I'm going to preach to you tonight.
Now let me just start out by just giving you a little overview of the book of Daniel and
kind of getting you up to speed with where we're going to be tonight, which is mainly
in Daniel chapter eight.
But the book of Daniel is laid out in two sections.
If you cut it in half right down the middle, chapters one through six are mainly stories.
And they're very famous stories about Daniel and his friends standing up for what's right.
Some of the most famous involve Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the
fiery furnace or Daniel being thrown into the lion's den.
And I believe that one of the reasons why God starts out this important prophetic book
with these type of stories is that one of the main features of the end times is that
God's people are going to be persecuted.
They're going to go through great tribulations and trials and troubles.
And so part of the book of Daniel is to get us prepared for that and ready to take a stand
for God both now and in the end times.
You see we can study Bible prophecy all day long and we can understand every twist and
turn of the chronology of the tribulation, the rapture, God's wrath, but we need to have
a practical application to our lives and the practical application is that you need to
stand up for what's right even in the end times.
You need to be ready to die for what you believe.
You need to be ready to undergo trials and tribulations and if you can't stand now, how
are you going to stand when things really get bad in the end times?
So I think that that's part of why those stories in Daniel 1 through 6 really focus on that.
But then when you get into chapters 7 through 12, you get into the really heavy Bible prophecy
of the book of Daniel.
I know that when I was a young child, I would read the book of Daniel and I loved the stories.
And chapters 1 through 6, man, I was excited.
Even chapter 7 kept me interested.
But when I got to chapter 8 is when I usually started to kind of fade away.
And I didn't usually get to the end of the book of Daniel when I was a child.
But it's time for us as adults to grow up and read the whole book of Daniel, right?
We don't want to just selectively read the easiest parts of scripture.
But all scripture is given by inspiration of God.
It's all profitable for doctrine.
And chapters 7 through 12 of Daniel, while not as exciting in the story sense, are even
more exciting once you understand their implications for Bible prophecy.
And they're extremely interesting.
But I think a lot of the reason why people shy away from Daniel 7 through 12 is that
they have trouble understanding it.
So I hope that tonight I can help shed some light on some of this and help you understand
how to rightly divide the book of Daniel.
And again, the most important thing is what has already happened versus what is going
to happen in the future.
So let's start out by just getting a quick overview from chapter 7, okay?
Back in chapter 2 there was that great image, and if you've seen Babylon USA you remember
this, where it had the head of gold and then it had the chest and arms of silver and then
it had the loins of brass and then it went down to the legs of iron and the feet of iron
mingled with clay.
And if you remember, these are four great kingdoms.
The head of gold was Babylon, the silver was the Medo-Persian Empire, the bronze was Gratia,
and then you end up with the Roman Empire.
And those are those four great kingdoms that keep coming up over and over again in the
book of Daniel.
But when you get to Daniel chapter 7, instead of an image with four sections, you have four
different beasts, okay?
The first beast is like a lion, which represents Babylon.
Then you've got the bear, representing the Medo-Persians.
Let's jump into Daniel chapter 7, and I want to point out the third kingdom, which is the
kingdom of Gratia.
The Bible says in verse 6, "After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, which had
upon the back of it four wings of a fowl.
The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it," and this represents Greece.
Then we go to the fourth kingdom, verse 7, "After this I saw in the night visions, and
behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had great iron
teeth, and it devoured and break in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it,
and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them, and this is key, another
little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots,
and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great
things."
Now, I want you to keep your finger here in Daniel 7 and go to Revelation 13.
Revelation chapter 13, we're going to go back and forth a little bit right now between
Revelation 13 and Daniel 7.
And the main point that I want to show to you right now is that the little horn of Daniel
chapter 7 is the antichrist of Revelation 13.
And that's very important, and I want to prove that to you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that
the little horn of Daniel 7 is the antichrist of Revelation 13.
Look what the Bible says in Revelation 13 verse 4, "And they worshiped the dragon which
gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?
Who is able to make war with him?
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was
given unto him to continue forty and two months."
So we see the beast here, or the antichrist, that he has a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies, and he continues for forty-two months.
Well back in Daniel 7, what did it say about the little horn at the end of verse 8?
It said that he had a mouth speaking great things.
Look at verse 19, "Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass,
which devoured, break in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet, and of the ten
horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell,
even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look
was more stout than his fellows.
Verse 21, "I beheld in the same horn, made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them."
Now, that should sound familiar to you from Revelation 13.
Look at Revelation 13, verse 7, of the Antichrist, it says it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them.
So in Daniel 7 it said he made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.
Revelation 13 said he made war with the saints, and overcame them.
And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Go back to Daniel 7, verse 23, "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom
upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth,
and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise, and another shall
rise after them.
The other one that rises after is the Antichrist, the little horn.
And he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings, and he shall
speak great words against the Most High, just like Revelation 13, and shall wear out the
saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into
his hand until a time, and times, and the dividing of time. Now what does that mean?
A time, that's one. Times is two. The dividing of time. What's that? Three and a half. So
it's saying he's going to have dominion and power for three and a half years. What did
it say in Revelation 13? Forty-two months. It's the same period of time. Verse 26, "But
the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy
it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom and the whole
heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high, whose kingdom is
an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Of course, referring
to Jesus Christ. So what do we see here? Daniel gets a vision of four kingdoms. Babylon, Medo-Persian,
Greece, and then the fourth kingdom, which is Rome. Okay. But the fourth kingdom not
only represents Rome, but it also represents the end times, new world order or one world
system that's still coming in the future. Now, when Christ came the first time, it was
during that fourth kingdom of Rome. But the ten kings aspect of that fourth kingdom, the
ten toes of Daniel chapter two, or the ten horns of Daniel chapter seven, has to do with
the fourth kingdom in its future aspect in the end times, which is why it ties in perfectly
with Revelation 13, where you have the beast with seven heads and ten horns. And you have
the same thing about making war against the saints and continuing for 42 months as clearly
future fulfillment in the end times. But what I want you to especially note here, and this
is the most important part of what I just explained, is that the little horn, or the
antichrist, he clearly comes out of the fourth kingdom. Look at verse 24 of Daniel 7. The
ten horns out of this kingdom, which kingdom? The fourth kingdom. The ten horns out of this
kingdom are ten kings that shall arise, and another shall rise when? After them. Okay?
So get the picture. You got four kingdoms, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grisha, fourth kingdom,
which is Rome, first time Christ came, New World Order, second time Christ comes, but
where does the little horn come into play? He comes out of the fourth kingdom after the
ten kings. Okay? Why is that important? Let's back up and let's talk about the third kingdom.
What's the third kingdom? Grisha, right? Look if you would at Daniel chapter 7 verse 6.
This is back to the third kingdom. "After this I beheld and lo another, like a leopard,
which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads, and
dominion was given to it." Now, why is this significant? The reason that Greece is represented
by the leopard is because Alexander the Great was the great king that created this Grecian
empire, and his army was known for its great speed. They would be able to travel over
great distances quickly. That was part of their strategic advantage, sort of a blitz
creed that they would use in order to defeat the enemy, which is why it's represented by
a leopard. Why does the leopard have four heads? Because Alexander the Great died a
very young and unexpected death, and when he died there was no successor ready to take
over after him, so his kingdom ended up going to four of his generals. Instead of one decisive
leader taking over and picking up where Alexander left off, his four generals ended up taking
different parts of the kingdom, so that's why it's a four headed kingdom. It's a four
headed beast because these four different generals took over. Now let's go to Daniel
chapter eight. Now Daniel chapter eight is a chapter that exclusively deals with the
second kingdom and the third kingdom. Now I don't want to lose you tonight. I want you
to pay attention and you've got to put your thinking cap on because we're going deep in
Bible prophecy tonight. Four kingdoms folks, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grecian, Roman Empire.
When we're talking about Daniel chapter eight, it covers the second and third kingdom. It's
all about the Medo-Persians and the Greeks. Okay? Now look down at your Bible in verse
three. "Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a
ram which had two horns." Now later in the chapter, it's explained that the ram that
has two horns is the Medo-Persian empire. It makes sense that it has two horns because
it's the Medes and the Persians. Then the Bible says the two horns were high, but one
was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. Why? Because the Persian side
of it was the stronger side of the empire. It came up last, but it was the greater of
the two. It ended up becoming the dominant part of that empire. Verse four, "I saw the
ram pushing westward and northward and southward, so that no beast might stand before him. Neither
was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and
became great." So there's a time when the Medo-Persian empire is just unstoppable. I
mean, whatever direction they go, nobody can face them, nobody can stand, nobody can defeat
them, and the Persians are stronger than the Medes. Then it says in verse five, "And as
I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth."
Now later in the chapter, the Bible flat out tells us that this he-goat is the king of
Grisha. Coming from the west, this is Alexander the Great, the great king of Grisha, coming
from the west to conquer, coming from Macedonia or northern Greece. And it says the he-goat
came from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground. Now remember,
this kingdom of Grisha was represented by a leopard, which a leopard is known for one
thing, it's known for being a fast animal. And the fact that the he-goat touched not
the ground, it's because this he-goat is just flying so fast, it's not even touching the
ground. So it's another reference to the rapidity of the movement. And it says the goat had
a notable horn between his eyes. And of course the notable horn is Alexander the Great.
Let's keep reading, verse 6. "And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had
seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him
come close unto the ram, and he was moved with collar against him." Now what does collar
mean? Collar means extreme rage, or if you want to pronounce it like James White, it's
choler. But he also pronounces a doe a doe, like doe a deer, a female deer. So basically
this word is supposedly an archaic word, choler. Well no, it's just not pronounced choler,
it's choler. Now, have you ever heard someone described as a choleric person, someone having
a choleric personality? What does that mean? It means they're a really angry person, okay.
So this rough goat, which is Alexander the Great, he comes up against the ram, he comes
up against the Medo-Persian Empire, and he's angry. He hates them, right? And he wants
to defeat them. He was moved with choler against him, which is like wrath or rage or anger.
And he smote the ram and break his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand
before him. But he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that
could deliver the ram out of his hand. So he wipes out this Medo-Persian power. Therefore,
the he-goat waxed very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and
for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Now remember the four
wings and the four heads? Now it's the four notable ones. So when Alexander the Great
dies, there are four notable ones who rise up to take his place. It says in verse 9,
and out of one of them came forth a little horn. Okay, so let's stop here and understand
this. So after Alexander the Great dies, his untimely death around the age of 32, there
ends up being four different kingdoms. It ends up being broken up into a kingdom that's
in Macedonia and Greece. There's a kingdom in Asia Minor, there's a kingdom in Mesopotamia,
and a kingdom in Egypt. So it ends up being broken up into these different geographic
sections, okay? And these four geographic sections, they have four different generals
who led them and eventually became kings and had descendants and dynasties that ruled in
these four areas. Now the two most important of these areas are known as the Seleucid Empire
in the north, which is out of Mesopotamia, Babylon, that area, the Seleucid Empire in
the north, and the Ptolemaic Empire in the south. Now when we say the south, we're talking
about Egypt. So the Ptolemies are ruling in Egypt, okay, but it's a Greek dynasty that's
ruling down in Egypt. And then you have the Seleucid kings that are ruling up in Mesopotamia.
Later in the book of Daniel, these are going to be called the King of the North and the
King of the South. So there are four kingdoms, but two of them are the most important, right?
Everybody following so far? The King of the North, King of the South, the Seleucid King,
and the Ptolemaic King. Those are the kingdoms. Out of one of them came forth a little horn.
Now do you remember in Daniel 7, there was a little horn, right? What kingdom did that
little horn come out of? The little horn came out of a fourth kingdom that came after the
Greeks are already done with everything that they're going to do, right? The Romans have
taken over, and then after the ten kings, the little horn came up, and we know that
that little horn is the Antichrist. But this little horn, notice where he comes into play,
he comes out of one of these Greek kingdoms. It's a different guy. Everybody paying attention?
So this guy comes out of one of those four kingdoms, and he waxed exceeding great toward
the south and toward the east and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to
the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host of the stars to the ground and
stamped upon them. Yet he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him
the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Now
history tells us that this man is known as Antiochus Epiphanes, okay? One of the Seleucid
kings of the northern kingdom, known as Antiochus Epiphanes, he did this. He ended up going
into Judea, he ended up fighting against Jerusalem, he ended up polluting the temple, and he ended
up, the Bible says, taking away the daily sacrifice and casting down the place of the
sanctuary. In fact, this man, Antiochus Epiphanes, who the Bible calls here the Little Horn in
Daniel chapter 8, he also declared himself to be God. In fact, there are ancient coins
that have been dug up that show his face on them, and they say, "Antiochus Epiphanes,
God manifest." That he's basically a manifest God. Now, who do we know as God manifest in
the flesh? Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3.16, "Without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness." God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. So
we know that it's Jesus Christ who was manifest in the flesh. Now, what is a person called
that would take the place of Jesus Christ, that would seek to have the same attributes
as Jesus Christ, that would be instead of Jesus Christ saying, "No, I'm God manifest
in the flesh," that would be an antichrist. The prefix anti in antichrist means in the
place of. It doesn't mean against. A lot of people think it means anti like, "Hey,
I'm anti-abortion," like I'm against abortion. That's not what that prefix anti means in
this context because anti has a couple different meanings. Antichrist means one who is in the
place of Christ, instead of Christ. Well that's what this guy, Antiochus Epiphanes was, this
little horn. What did he do? He basically said, "I'm God manifest on earth." And what
did he do? He caused the daily sacrifice to cease. Let's keep reading. The Bible says
in verse 12, "And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression,
and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered. Then I heard
one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long
shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice?" And watch this next phrase. "And the transgression
of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot. And he said
unto me, unto 2,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." So here's what I want to point
out here, is that this guy, the little horn, who is a Greek king, he's out of one of the
four Greek kingdoms, notably the king of the north, the Seleucid king, and he is an antichrist
who has a what? An abomination of desolation. He has a transgression of desolation that
he's associated with. He's taken the daily sacrifice away. I mean, does this sound kind
of familiar? Look what the Bible says in Daniel 8.20, "The ram which thou sawest, having two
horns are the kings of Media and Persia, and the rough goat is the king of Grecia, and
the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." Who's the first king? Alexander
the Great. "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, the four generals, four
kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, not in his power." They're not going to be
as powerful as Alexander the Great. Look at verse 23, "And in the latter time of their
kingdom," so as we're toward the end of that third kingdom, which is the kingdom of Grecia,
but we're not yet into the fourth kingdom, which is the Roman Empire, "in the end of
their kingdom," the Bible says, "in the latter time of their kingdom," verse 23, "when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark
sentences shall stand up." Now, what does that mean, a king of fierce countenance and
understanding dark sentences? When we think of one who understands dark sentences, this
is somebody who's into the dark arts. This is somebody who's into sorcery, witchcraft,
black magic, just that which is satanic and occultic. That's what this guy is into. And
his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. Where's this guy getting his power
from? He's getting his power from the devil. It's not his own power. He's into dark arts
and dark crafts, witchcraft. It says, "His power shall be mighty, but not by his own
power, and he shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper and practice and shall destroy
the mighty and the holy people." So he's up against the Jews. "And through his policy
also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." We think of craft like witchcraft.
"And he shall magnify himself in his heart and by peace shall destroy many. He shall
also stand up against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand." Now
here's the key thing here to understand. These are two different people. In Daniel 7, the
little horn clearly comes after the ten kings of the fourth kingdom. In Daniel 8, there's
no way around it. The little horn comes toward the end of the third kingdom before the fourth
kingdom has even started because they're two completely different people. So what that
means is that Antiochus Epiphanes, history tells us in 167 BC, set up the transgression
of abomination, of desolation. He did that when he set up a statue of an idol. He set
up a statue of Zeus in the temple and he desecrated the temple and persecuted the Jews and things
of that nature. But in chapter seven, we're talking about the end times antichrist who
is going to set up an image as well. Now go to Matthew 24. Let's take this into the New
Testament now. Matthew chapter 24, let's talk about the abomination of desolation. Now here's
where I don't want you to misunderstand because here's what we've learned so far. We've learned
that there was already an abomination of desolation. It already happened. 167 B.C. Done. It already
happened. There was already an antichrist even before the first coming of Christ. Antiochus
Epiphanies during the Greek Empire that came before Christ and that did a lot of the same
things as the antichrist in Daniel chapter 7, but it's a different person because the
timing is off by hundreds of years. It's not even in the same era. It's not even in the
same kingdom. Now where a lot of people make a mistake with Bible prophecy is they say,
"Oh, this stuff already happened." A mistake that people often make is they say, "Well,
this happened in the past. This already all is fulfilled. It's done." And there's a false
doctrine out there called Preterism you might have heard of. Or you might have heard of
it described as Historicism. And what we believe is called Futurism because we believe that
all this stuff is going to happen in the end times. We believe that there's going to be
a one world government. There's going to be an Antichrist. There's going to be the mark
of the beast. And that all these things are still coming in the future. But there's a
false doctrine out there that says, "Oh, it already happened." Now this false doctrine
about it already having happened comes in a few different flavors, but a lot of them
will say, "Hey, you know, Antiochus Epiphanes, it already happened." Well guess what? It
already happened, and it's going to happen again because there's two different little
horns. There's two different Antichrists. There's the Antichrist before the first coming
of Christ, and there's going to be another Antichrist before the second coming of Christ.
And so it's going to happen again, and the proof is comparing Daniel 7 and Daniel 8.
When you compare Daniel 7 with Daniel 8, you cannot come to the conclusion, "Oh, it's the
same guy." Two totally different kingdoms. One's coming out of Greece. The other one's
coming out of the fourth kingdom. Totally different. Now, another proof that this hasn't
all already happened is what it says here in Matthew 24, 14 in this gospel of the kingdom,
"Shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the
end come." Look at verse 15, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken
of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand.
Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Now, what in the world sense
would it make for Jesus to say, "Hey, listen, when you see the abomination of desolation,
you better head for the hills." What sense would that make if it had already happened
a couple hundred years earlier? It wouldn't make any sense, would it, to say, "Hey, watch
out for this in the future." But the reason it does make sense is when you understand
that it happened in the past and that it will happen again in the future. There was a foreshadowing
in the Old Testament and the major fulfillment is in the future. You see, that's how a lot
of Bible prophecy is. A lot of Bible prophecy has like an immediate meaning to that prophet,
but then there's a future fulfillment that's off in the future. If you study the Old Testament,
there are all kinds of Day of the Lords that happened back then. Minor Day of the Lords,
but the big Day of the Lord is always in view. It's prophesying that as well. Think about
the book of Jonah. I mean, when you read the book of Jonah, Jonah is in the belly of the
whale, but when he prays out of the belly of the whale, part of the time he's talking
about seaweed being wrapped around his head. Well, that's literal for back then, but part
of the time he talks about crying to God out of the belly of hell. Well, we know that
Jonah was not in hell. He talks about going down to the bottoms of the mountains. The
whale didn't swim that deep, okay? He didn't actually go down to the bottoms of the mountains.
He didn't have the earth with her bars around him forever. He was prophesying of Christ.
It was Christ who was in hell for three days and three nights. It was Christ who went down
to the bottoms of the mountains. It was Christ who had the earth with her bars about him
forever, not Jonah. So it switches back and forth between Jonah talking about himself
and talking about Jesus Christ. That's why when the Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah
53, he said, "Is this prophet talking about himself or is he talking about some other
man?" And of course, the most important aspect was talking about Jesus. Well, that's how
it is with Old Testament scriptures. Yeah, Jonah's talking about himself, but the most
important aspect is what he's saying about Jesus. When David said, "Thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to seek corruption," that's
talking about Jesus. And all throughout the Old Testament, we have a literal immediate
fulfillment and then we have a greater fulfillment in the future. That's a very common theme
in scripture. And with Daniel, there's no guessing because he flat out tells us, "Look,
there's going to be a little horn. There's going to be a transgression of desolation.
There's going to be a stopping of the daily sacrifice. All these things will happen during
the end of the Greek kingdom." But then we know they're going to happen again because
Jesus is still talking about it and because Daniel 7 talks about it happening again after
the 10 kings. That's all future. That's still future to us today. So a lot of people, they
misunderstand scripture because they think it's either or. You know, did it happen back
then or is it going to happen in the future? And the answer is both. It happened before
and it will happen again. Mark 13 verse 14 says the same thing. You don't have to turn
there. It says, "But when you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel
the prophet standing where it ought not, let him that readeth understand, then let them
that be in Judea flee into the mountains." And again, notice when it talks about the
abomination of desolation, it talks about it standing in the holy place or standing
where it not not. And we're going to get into more about what that means. But if you would
flip over to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter number 2, 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2. So those who say it's all historical, it's all in the past, it's all preterite,
it already happened with Antiochus the 50th. Well then why is Jesus still talking about
it? But then they say, well, you know, it happened in 70 AD. Well then why is the book
of Revelation still talking about it? After 70 AD. And why is the book of Revelation talking
about all these things that clearly didn't happen in 70 AD? Plagues and wrath of God
that have not happened. Christ coming in the clouds, which has not happened yet. The resurrection
of all the dead, which has not happened yet. These things are all still in the future.
Yes, they happened in the past when it comes to the abomination of desolation, but there's
going to be another one. The Bible says there are many antichrists. What does it say here
in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1? "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken
in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as
that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that
is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God. Now the reason that we know that the day of Christ is not at hand, that Christ
is not just going to come in the clouds at any moment for the rapture, he could come
tonight, he could come today, as we hear so often. The reason we know that's not true
is because that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. What does he do? He goes into the temple of
God and he exalts himself as God and above all that is called God and he shows himself
that he is God, right? So he declares himself to be God. This happens at the midpoint of
the end times week known as Daniel 70th week. It happens when the Antichrist receives a
deadly wound to his head. His deadly wound is healed and then all the world wonders after
him and they say, "We need to make an image to the beast." And when they set up that image,
when that image stands in that holy place where it ought not, when that image is placed
in the place where it ought not be, that is known as the abomination of desolation. And
the Bible says when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, who so
readeth let him understand, and it talks about how those in Judea need to head for the hills.
I do not get to head for the hills when I see it, because I don't live in Judea. I live
in Phoenix, Arizona, and when I see that abomination of desolation stand in the holy place where
it ought not, I'm going to preach harder than I've ever preached. I'm going to just pull
out all the stops. I'm going to be out soul winning. I'm going to be trying as hard as
I can to have one last hurrah, just get a few more rewards, get a few more people saved
and preach my lungs out and preach my throat raw. You say, oh they're going to kill you.
To me to live is Christ and to die is gain. You know, so what? Who cares if I get killed
when there's only like a couple months left before we're all in heaven anyway. We're all
going to the same place folks. We're all going to get there in a few months. I'd rather go
out with a bang. And I believe, I personally believe I'm going to survive anyway. I believe
it's all the liberal preachers that are going to get their heads cut off. You know what
I mean? Because God, I think, and this is just my opinion, I could be wrong about this.
But if I'm wrong, you won't be able to rub my nose in it because I'll be dead if I'm
wrong. But I think people like Brother Jimenez and myself are going to be some of the last
people that would be killed. I mean, look, if I were God, you know, I'd want to protect
the guys who are preaching fearlessly. And I'd make sure that the first one in line for
the guillotine is the watered down preacher who's afraid to even preach against the sodomites
even when it's legal. He won't even take a stand now when we're not even in the tribulation.
We're not even experiencing persecution. We have the first amendment protecting us and
we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The guy who's hiding with his tail between
his legs, you know, that's the guy that I would remove my hand of protection from, but
I'm not God. So, you know, if God in his wisdom allows Brother Jimenez and myself to be martyred,
what an honor!
But I would prefer to be alive and remain under the coming of the Lord. So that's why
I'm praying always that I'd be kind of worthy to escape all these things and to stand before
the Son of Man. The pre-tribbers have never prayed that prayer in their life because they
think they're going to be beamed out before any of it anyway. So if there's only a few
people praying that, we're probably the ones that are going to get answered. And a lot
of the pre-tribbers are going to get wiped out. That's what I believe. So I'm not going
to go hide somewhere, I'm just going to preach harder and do more and keep sowing all the
way to the bitter end. That's my plan. But the Bible tells us here that this abomination
of desolation is spoken of by Daniel the prophet, okay? Whoso readeth, let him understand. You
don't have to turn there, you can if you like, but the most famous abomination of desolation
verse in Daniel is in chapter 9. Now of course it's mentioned elsewhere, we saw it mentioned
in chapter 8, but it was a different abomination of desolation that already happened. It was
the little horn of Daniel 8, not the little horn of Daniel 7, not the Antichrist but the
historical figure Antiochus Epiphanes. Look what the Bible says in Daniel 9, 27, "And
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations
he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate." Now it makes perfect sense, now flip over to Daniel 12, it makes
perfect sense that it says that the abomination of desolation takes place in the middle of
the week. Why? Because how long is the Antichrist going to continue in power after he sets himself
up as God on earth? He continues in power for 42 months, which is how long? Three and
a half years, well that makes perfect sense if it happens in the middle of the week and
he lasts until close to the end of the week. So it all fits like a glove. Look at Daniel
12 verse 11, you'll see what I mean. "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall
be taken away, and the abomination that make a desolate set up, there shall be a thousand
two hundred and ninety days." This is clearly not the abomination of desolation spoken
of in Daniel 8 with Antiochus Epiphanes, but it's the future abomination of desolation
that Jesus pointed us to and said, "When you see it, them that are in Judea should head
for the hills. They're in trouble." So what is the abomination of desolation? It is,
in the temple of God, a false God that's set up. Whether that's a man saying, "I'm God
manifest. I'm going to print coins that say that. I'm going to pretend to be like the
Lord Jesus Christ even before He came the first time." Or whether that's in the end
times the Antichrist and the false prophet saying, "Hey, let's make an image to the
beast. Let's make an image to the one who had the deadly wound to his head and yet did
live." That is what the abomination of desolation is when it stands in the holy place where
it ought not. This is where He comes into the temple of God showing Himself that He
is God. Now last place we'll turn, Revelation chapter 13. And Revelation chapter 13 is
the key chapter on the Antichrist, on the mark of the beast, things of that nature.
And it talks about the false prophet who points people to the Antichrist. You see, God is
the Trinity, right? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. He eternally exists as Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. And Jesus receives His kingdom and authority from the Father, right?
That authority is given to him by the Father, and the Antichrist, he gets his authority
from the devil. The Bible says the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great
authority. So just as the Father gives Jesus a kingdom, the Antichrist Father, who his
Father is the devil, gives him a kingdom, okay? So the dragon is sort of like the Father
of the Antichrist, and then the false prophet is sort of like their Holy Spirit. So it's
like an evil trinity, like a satanic trinity of dragon, beast, and false prophet. So you'll
see those three mentioned together, like where three unclean spirits like frogs come out
of the dragon's mouth, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, and out of the mouth
of the beast. So here we see the false prophet in verse 14, "deceiveth them that dwell on
the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast."
So in the end times, this false prophet, he's going to perform miracles that will just wow
the world into believing in him. Now think about this. The atheists are always saying
what? "We need proof. Show us proof of God and we'll believe in him." Isn't that what
they say? It's what they claim. And you know what? They're never going to see any proof.
Why? Because faith is the evidence of things not seen. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. You think God in heaven is going to come down
and prove to some wicked atheist that he exists. You know what? He doesn't have to prove anything.
He just said, "Well, if you don't believe in me, then just go to hell then, Stephen
Hawking. Just go to hell then, Richard Dawkins, if you don't believe in me." The Bible doesn't
start out in chapter 1 by saying, "Hey, let me prove to you God exists." It just says,
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." I don't believe that. Go to hell
then if you don't believe that. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. He that is
filthy, let him be filthy still. He that is righteous, let him be righteous still. He
that is holy, let him be holy still. Look, it's up to you to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, but you know what? You have to believe on him. And if you had concrete evidence in
your hand, no faith would be required. There'd be nothing to believe in. If we could show
you beyond a shadow of a doubt the proof that Jesus existed. Here's a videotape of him dying
on the cross. Here's a video of him rising from the dead. You know, there'd be no faith
needed at that point if we could just see and believe everything. No, we need to have
faith. There's faith. But isn't that what the atheist says? "I want to see the evidence."
Of course, he hasn't seen the evidence for the Big Bang. You know, he hasn't seen the
evidence for -- you say, "Well, there's evidence for that." Well, there's a lot more evidence
for the Bible than for that stuff. You say, "What's your evidence for the Bible?" You
know, my evidence for the Bible is that everything it says ends up being true. And I'm 36 years
old and I've been testing it for the last 36 years and the Bible's always right about
everything and God's always right about everything. You say, "Well, that's not hard evidence."
You're right, it's not hard evidence. But I'm saved by faith, not hard evidence. Saved
by faith. Well, I believe in science. Okay, then take your science to hell with you and
you could be down in hell with a chemistry set down there and you could be down in hell
doing all kinds of experiments in your zero-gravity environment. You're going to love it down
there because you're going to be in a place where scientists would love to be because
they want to know what's down in the center of the earth, don't they? They're all excited
how in 2025 they're going to drill down into the mantle and they're excited. We've only
been on the crust and we want to get down into the mantle and we can't wait till 2025.
Well, you know what? Stephen Hawking's already there waiting for you. You say, "Oh man, in
the year 2025, we're going to get down to the mantle." Hey, Stephen Hawking's already
beat you there. He's already cruised through the mantle and made it all the way to the
core. And he's already doing all kinds of zero-gravity experiments down there. He's
experimenting with extreme temperatures. I mean, he's converting Kelvin to Fahrenheit
to Celsius, and he's got all eternity to make those calculations down there. You know, and
we live in a society that just worships these scientists. Oh, they're so smart. No, the
Bible says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." They're liars. They're
idiots. The stuff that they teach is garbage. And those of us that are saved, we laugh
at it. We mock at it. We scorn it. We ridicule it. It's junk to us. But to them, what do
they do? They say the same thing about the Bible. Why? Because the wisdom of God is foolishness
with men, right? The Bible says the natural man receiving not the things of the Spirit
of God. They are foolishness unto him. This wonderful book of 1189 chapters of pure greatness
on every page as we read it our hearts burn within us. We love the Bible. It's magnificent.
There's no book like it. There's never man spake like this man spake. You know, the atheist
picks up this book and it's foolishness unto him. I heard somebody tell me who was an atheist.
He said I started reading Genesis and it was junk to me. The book of Genesis was just junk.
It's like are you reading the same book of Genesis? What are you talking about? And this
guy was even reading a King James. Cause some of these other versions are total junk. But
I'm saying he was reading a King James and walked away saying it was total junk. Why?
Because his mind is blinded. It can't be discerned by the unbelieving mind. You know I was talking
to my wife about what garbage the Apocrypha is last night. Cause I was reading her passages
from the Apocrypha and saying isn't this just pure garbage? Like why did anyone even
translate this? It's such worthless junk. It's nonsense. I mean it's just crazy stuff.
And it just contradicts the rest of the Bible. It's like what in the world? And I'm reading
her this passage and she said to me she said you know when I was a kid growing up in the
Catholic Church I didn't notice any difference between the Apocrypha and the Bible. When
they would read to us from the Apocrypha she said I went to a summer camp one time and
it was all taught from the book of Tobit. Not the Hobbit but Tobit. You'll be better off
getting your doctrine from the Hobbit by the way. But anyway you know the Tobit was the
whole theme of this week of summer camp and she said you know it didn't stand out to me
as being any different than any other Bible scriptures that I'd heard. Why? Because she
was unsaved and it was all just it's all just going right over her head. But when you're
saved you read the Bible there's power. You pick up the Book of Mormon it's like junk.
You pick up the Quran it's total junk. You pick up the Apocrypha it's total junk. And
then these people are like well how do you know they put the right books in the Bible?
I mean how do you know some of those Apocrypha books shouldn't be in there? Have you ever
read them? They're so weird. I mean there's a part in the Apocrypha where it's talking
about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and it's talking about how there's
a cold spot in the furnace where they are. It's like what in the world? It's just making
stuff up. There's a part in the Apocrypha where it retells the story of Esther and it
just completely contradicts the original version. So it talks about instead of Esther just walking
in and she walks in and the king just holds out the golden scepter and says what is thy
petition Queen Esther and she wants him to go to the banquet with her and Haman and the
king in the apocrypha she walks in and passes out somebody grabs her and then the king jumps
out of his throne and runs down and he's like oh my dearest it's just like so cheesy it's
so corny you know and and it turns out that Haman is the secret agent from the Macedonians
he's trying to overthrow the government everything it's just like what in the world you can't
find one chapter in the apocrypha that's even worth reading it has any power you can't
even find one verse where you say that's a powerful verse but what happens when you read
the Bible I can't find one chapter in the Bible that I don't like I mean think about
just the book of Proverbs alone I can't even find a chapter in the book of Proverbs that
isn't just dripping with so much wisdom you could live your whole life on that wisdom
but 52 chapters of Ecclesiasticus from the apocrypha is just a cheap imitation it's
total junk but see the unsaved people they can't tell the difference can they to them
it all goes over their head because they're not saved and you know what whether you like
this or not that's why people can't tell the difference between the King James and
these modern versions a lot of times is because they're not even saved so to them it's all
going over their head none of it's making any sense to them you know but those of us
that are saved man we hear the King James and we know it's right when I was a kid and
I heard preachers preach from the NIV even before this issue was even explained to me
I remember just thinking to myself there's something wrong with the NIV I can't put
my finger on it there's something wrong with that book why that's the spirit of God where
you know the voice of the shepherd and you flee the voice of strangers you know the difference
well these unbelievers these unsaved that scoff at the Bible that's because they're
unsafe we scoff at them they're a joke unto us but they want to see evidence don't they
that's what they're looking for just show us the proof and we'll be saved is what the
atheist says and I say to them well you'll never be saved then oh evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign
of the prophet Jonah for as Jonah's was three days and three nights in the whale's belly
so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth the
death barrel and the resurrection is the only sign they're gonna get that's not enough they're
gonna have to go to hell and experiment down there but what does the Bible say are you
there in Revelation 13 this is where we'll close verse 14 and deceive at them that dwell
on the earth the false prophet will by the means of those miracles which he had power
to do in the side of the beast and of course the atheists they're gonna eat that up with
fork and spoon when they can see the proof when they see the miracles that are done in
the name of the Antichrist right and of course all the Charismaniacs and the Pentecostals
they're gonna eat this up they're gonna love the miracles and they're gonna just they're
gonna fall for the lying signs and wonders the Muslims the Buddhists the Hindus people
are gonna rally this is what people want they don't want faith they don't want to believe
on Jesus they wanted all to be proven to them with miracles and he's gonna say to them halfway
through verse 14 that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which
had the wound by a sword and did live and he had power to give life unto the image of
the beast that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would
not worship the image of the beast should be killed and he causeth all both small and
great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads
and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast
or the number of his name here is wisdom let him that hath understanding count the number
of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is six hundred three score
and six so in conclusion these things are still coming this is not already happened
don't listen to the preterist or the historicist no no it's futurist this stuff is still the
main event is still coming yes many of the events of Daniel have already been fulfilled
everything in chapter eight has already been fulfilled but there's still another event
coming that's even bigger that's even greater there's a tribulation coming on this earth
greater than anything the world has ever seen there have been tribulations before but there's
going to be the greatest tribulation there have been earthquakes before but there's going
to be the greatest earthquake there's been an abomination of desolation before but there's
going to be a greater event like that there's even been a guy who you could point to and
say this guy was an anti-christ and it's interesting that the first coming of Christ was preceded
by an anti-christ there are many anti-christs and then there's going to be the anti-christ
of the end times there was a partial fulfillment of the book of Daniel in 167 BC with anti-christ
and anti-epiphanies many other things were fulfilled in 70 AD another partial fulfillment
but let me assure you that the main event is still coming the biggest event is still
going to happen and so you better be ready for that now in the end we're on the winning
side Jesus Christ is going to take the kingdom and rule and reign and we're going to rule
and reign with him forever and ever but you better be ready to stand that's what Daniel
1-6 taught you be ready to stand up for what you believe then Daniel 7-12 teaches you to
understand what's coming so that you'll be prepared for it and know what's happening
so that you're not confused and disillusioned Daniel chapter 7 is a great chapter on the
end times Antichrist we saw that the little horn Daniel chapter 8 shows us an example
of a previous Antichrist during the Greek Empire Daniel chapter number 9 teaches us
more about the abomination of desolation that's coming in the midst of that week of
end times 42 months Daniel chapter 10 through 12 what most people consider the most difficult
part of Daniel let me just give you one point on that Daniel chapter 11 everything in Daniel
chapter 11 has already happened all of it but guess what can happen again so you can
take verses from Daniel chapter 11 and rightly apply them to the Antichrist you can apply
them to end times prophecy why because they had a partial fulfillment back then and they're
going to have an even greater future fulfillment that's why Jesus pointed us to the book of
Daniel and said read it understand it and be ready for these things why don't you start
practicing now by be willing to stand up for Verity Baptist Church the pillar and ground
of the truth why not practicing now by standing with the man of God now look this man of God
up here standing before you is not perfect that man of God sitting over there is not
perfect but I'll tell you one thing right now I'm a man of God and he's a man of God
not saying that we're perfect I'm not saying that we're right about everything I'm not
saying to blindly follow us but I'll tell you one thing that man Pastor Roger Jimenez
is the man of God he is the man that God is greatly using in this area I don't think
there's any question about that and if you can point to a greater man of God in this
area then both Pastor Jimenez and myself would love to sit at his feet and learn something
from him because we all want to be the best Christians that we can possibly be and we
all want to learn from each other and from other great men of God we we're not self-made
man I mean we grew up listening to great preaching and you know my dad's here and I'm thankful
for everything that my dad invested in my life and great teaching of the word of God
that I learned from my dad and that we learned from pastor Nichols and that we learned from
other great men of God that have had influence of us over the years but let me tell you something
I'm convinced that Roger Jimenez is a great man of God and I think that's obvious to
anybody who's paying attention so why don't you stand with the man of God now you say
I want to die for Jesus Christ really then are you willing to get your butt in church
even when there's persecution oh man I'll take a stand I'll die for Christ you know
I you know I'll never deny you know what Peter said but you know what talk is cheap when
the rubber meets the road where are you gonna be are you gonna be hiding are you gonna be
standing up strong and being like Daniel where you're not gonna defy yourself with
the king's meat are you gonna be like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego where you'd rather burn
than bow are you gonna be like Daniel chapter 6 that says you know oh if I go to a Verity
Baptist church I'll be thrown in the lion's den throw me in or are you gonna be like
everybody else and you know what don't talk a big talk about the end times if you're not
willing to get in the fiery furnace now I'm willing to go into the fiery furnace tomorrow
if that's what God ordains and if you're not ready to get into a fiery furnace of just
being under some fiery preaching and being under fire from the media right and if you're
not willing to kind of just take a little heat from friends and family don't tell me
that you're going to actually just dive into a literal fiery furnace and say hey I'd rather
burn than bow no you wouldn't you'd rather bow than burn so it's all fine and dandy
to study Bible prophecy I'm for it but we need to apply it to our lives you know it's
great to understand Antiochus Epiphanes versus the End Times Antichrist that they're two
different people it's great to be able to say hey did you know that the little horn
in Daniel 7 is a totally different guy than the little horn in Daniel 8 I can prove that
to you well what matters is whether your little rear end is in church obeying the Bible than
to just know facts right knowledge puffeth up charity edifies and I want to have knowledge
and I want to impart knowledge unto you and I hope that I taught you something tonight
I hope that you walk away tonight and say you know what I learned something I understand
Daniel a little more but you know what I also hope that you walk out of here a little stronger
than you were when you walked in you know can you even handle brother Jimenez's documentary
film psychopath reprobates can you even share it on your news feed are you like well you
know afraid what people can think are gonna think I'm not afraid of what people think
I'm afraid of what God thinks and you know what I'm afraid of our nation becoming a Sodom
and Gomorrah so a great sermon like that a great tool like that which is a great informational
tool that can teach people and educate people you know that's going to help our country
last a little longer or at least help this area last a little longer or at least help
the U.S. last a little longer you know that's a lot more important than just your fear of
well I don't want people to think I hate homos well you know I do I hope everybody knows
that about me. Did I ever mention that? I hate them. Let's power heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for this great church, Lord, and I thank you for Brother Jimenez and his
faithfulness over the years. And I truly appreciate this man. And I thank you for giving Sacramento
this man, my hometown. I love Sacramento and I thank you for giving this man for this generation,
for this time and this place. And Lord, I pray that just as a band of men whose hearts you had
touched stayed with King Saul as he was filled with the Holy Ghost, I pray that you would touch
the hearts of many people in this area, that they would follow Pastor Roger Jimenez, that you would
touch their hearts and that just as Israelites followed King Saul and were led to victory,
I pray that men's hearts would be touched that they would follow your man in this area, Lord,
and other great men of God in this area and in other areas, Lord.
And we thank you so much for giving us the book of Daniel and opening our eyes to these truths.
We ask your blessing upon the food that we're about to eat,
and we ask that you give us safety as we go our separate ways. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.