6-8-14. Daniel 11:28-45. THOSE WHO ARE WISE AND FAITHFUL-my devotional

Key Verse: 11:32                                                                                                 Kevin E. Jesmer

“He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

     Dear Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for providing joy, love, hope, forgiveness, meaning, value, mission and truth and fellowship in my life. Where would I be without Jesus? Where would I be without the Gospel? You truly are my savior. You truly do light up my life and the lives of all who put their faith, hope and trust in you. May the people of this land discover the way, the truth and the LIFE, Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray for the new grads , that they may embark on their new chapter of their lives, holding onto Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well.”  Help them to know and follow Christ and in doing so be blessed. Please grant me one deep word of God through this passage. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: The People Who Know Their God (28-35).

Verses 28-35, “And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land. 29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.” (ESV)

The king of the North in these verses is an antichrist. He is against the holy covenant. He abolishes the daily sacrifices to God and sets up an abomination that causes desolation (see Jesus’ words in Mt 24:15). He corrupts covenant-violators with flattery. But the people who know their God will resist him.

I like how the daily bread says, “an antichrist.” We are at times focused on one antichrist. But in every generation there are many, many antichrists. There are also philosophies and teachings and cultural trends and political ideologies that propagate the spirit of the antichrist. The apostle John alludes to this in one of his epistles. 1 John 2:18-19 reads, “¹⁸ Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (NIV) And 2 John 1:6-8 reads, “I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” (NIV) John was mostly referring to the Gnostics, who denied that Jesus is too holy and spiritual to ever take on the form of a human being.

With this definition in mind, we can see that there are many antichrists in this world. Who denies that the Savior, Jesus Christ, has come into this world in the flesh…that is, taking on human form? Atheists don’t believe the Savior took on flesh, or that there is a savior at all; numerous other religions that are off shoots of Gnosticism; people who only think that Jesus is a good religious teacher. Communism is a political ideology that denies that God took on flesh. This is embedded in their core belief systems. And anything that makes us deny that Jesus came in the flesh as Lord and Savior is the promoting the agenda of the antichrist. And so, one can see that there are many antichrists active in the world.

In the face of work of the antichrist, how should God’s people respond? Look at verses 32-35 again, “32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.”

The people of God must not give into flattery or other enticing words. They shall stand firm and take action. Concerning standing firm in faith, Isaiah once said, “…If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’” (Is 7:9) We need to take action to stand firm through pray, love, learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus and our understanding of the Gospel. We need to reach out to others for verse 33a reads, “And the wise among the people shall make many understand,..” (ESV) The people of God have to help others know who Jesus is and help them to understand the gospel, though they themselves are suffering a lot.

The people of God will also hold onto the right attitude towards suffering. The suffering that they are experiencing must not make them bitter towards God and the church or others. They need to know that their suffering has come “…so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.”  (35) We learn this spiritual principle in Hebrews 12:4-12 reads, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”  May God grant us a healthy attitude towards suffering and see what God is accomplishing through all of it.

The wise are refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end (35). God will reward the wise and faithful.

Part 2: The End Of An Antichrist (36-45).

Verses 36-45, “36 And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. 40 “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.” (ESV)

Antiochus IV Epiphanes fit the description of this antichrist-ruler who hated God. He exalted and magnified himself above God and was successful for a time (36). But he came to his end and no one helped him (45). Such is the fate of all who oppose God.

Who is it that opposes God? Most people will argue that they do not oppose God. But what are the characteristics of one who does?

1. And the king shall do as he wills.

2. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god,

3.  and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.

4. He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers,

5. for he shall magnify himself above all.

6. He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these.

7. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor.

If we look at the characteristics of one who is godless, we can see that many fit this definition, especially if they are determined to life as if God does not exist. It is the result of a humanist-atheist philosophy of life. It is an empty way of life with no hope. For just as Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to an end, so will those who live without God. “Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.” (45b)

Prayer: Lord, we know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent (Jn 17:3). Strengthen us to resist those who oppose you and to instruct others in your word.

One Word: Resist evil and instruct many in God’s word to know and live in Christ.