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It's probably the most difficult chapter in the book of Daniel. It's the longest and it's the most deep and has a lot going on and I really can't go through it verse by verse tonight just for sake of time. I mean it's so long, there's 45 verses and so I'm just going to give kind of a synopsis of the chapter and then just hit the main highlights and explain the part that's the most relevant to us today. Now in Daniel 11 the Bible reads, Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I stood to confirm and to strengthen them. Now a lot of people misunderstand who's speaking here and the key to understanding this is to realize that chapters 10, 11 and 12 form an unbroken narrative. So if you remember back when we were in chapter 10 last week, the angel that's speaking to Daniel is the one who's explaining to him these things and look at verse number 21 of chapter 10 it says, But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth, and there is none that holdeth with me in these things but Michael your prince. That's the angel that's showing everything to Daniel. Then right away in the next verse 11 one he says, Also I, so also there is an indication that we're picking up right where we left off in chapter 10. Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I stood to confirm and to strengthen him. Because you remember Darius the Mede was the righteous king that God had put in place and God had lifted him up. And he was the one who loved Daniel and pretty much did everything right except for the time that he was deceived into making a law against prayer and then Daniel prayed, was thrown in the lion's den and survived and everything else. But overall Darius was a righteous man. Well there were all these other wicked leaders that were in place that we saw the devil controlling in chapter 10. Well the first part of chapter 11 that we're not really going to spend a lot of time in is basically just explaining the wranglings and the back and forth and the battling for power of these kings who are trying to inherit this worldwide empire that Nebuchadnezzar originally had ruled over as the king of Babylon. And then of course the Medo-Persian empire took over and then the Grecian empire and it's just all the wicked men that are trying to lead that empire. But as in the rest of the book of Daniel we basically seamlessly transition from events that were happening at that time into future events that have not happened at all yet. So we start out in the book of Daniel, the first many, many verses are just describing battles going on between the Persians and the Greeks and all kinds of things that I'm not going to spend the time to just go through blow by blow. But then he gets into things that are yet to come which is basically the anti-Christ setting up his kingdom. Now let me first of all just prove to you that these things have not yet come. Besides the fact that in chapter 12 Daniel is told in verse 4, flip over to Daniel 12.4 and of course chapter 11 flows right into chapter 12 again. But it says in Daniel 12.4, But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. And he's told a few different times in chapter 12 to seal up the book, the vision is not going to be for many, many days. As opposed to the book of Revelation which says seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand. So he's basically explaining in Daniel that these events are way far out in the future. This book is written several hundred years before Jesus Christ even came for the first time to this earth, let alone the anti-Christ, his second coming. The other reason why we know that these events have not happened yet is found in verse number 31 of Daniel 11, look at Daniel 11.31. It says an arm shall pollute on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and shall take away the daily sacrifice and they shall place the abomination that make it desolate. Now the reference again to the abomination of desolation, this is something that Jesus approximately 500 years later is going to stand up and say when you see the abomination of desolation you'll know that basically the great tribulation is about to happen. Go to Matthew chapter 24 and we'll see that, Matthew chapter 24, the first book of the New Testament. Now a lot of people misunderstand the word tribulation and really that's what we're going to be talking about tonight as we go through these latter verses in the book of Daniel 11. And a lot of people misunderstand what the tribulation is because a lot of times people will just take an arbitrary definition and apply it to the Bible. And sometimes people have something just so beat into their head, a preconceived idea about what something means in the Bible that they just can't get past it. And one of those things is the word tribulation. Now in the Bible the word tribulation is almost always used and you can look up every time the word tribulation is used. It's almost always talking about God's people basically being persecuted or going through some kind of suffering for what they believe or for doing what's right. You're in Matthew 24, flip back to chapter 13 before we go to Matthew 24. Look at Matthew 13 and I'll show you the first time in the New Testament that the word tribulation is ever used. And usually whenever God introduces a new term he defines it for us in order to make the Bible easy to understand. In Matthew chapter 13 Jesus is giving the parable of the sower and he defines the word tribulation when he talks about the one who grows up among the thorns. I'm sorry, into stony places. Look at verse 20 it says, But he that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word, and anon with joy, receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself, but doereth for a while. This is talking about someone who hears the word of God, they believe on Jesus Christ, they get saved, but they only endure for a while. They endure for a while halfway through verse 21. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he's offended. So the first time that tribulation is used in the book of Matthew and in the New Testament at all, it's talking about a believer becoming disillusioned and quitting serving God because of all the persecutions and tribulations that come his way. All throughout the New Testament you'll see the Bible use it in that way. Jesus said, these things have I spoken of you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 3, verily when we were with you, talking to believers, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation, even as it came to pass as you know. Matthew chapter 5 said that we glory in tribulation. We glory in going through trials and troubles and rough times. But yet when people get to Matthew 24 and other places that mention tribulation, they assign it an arbitrary definition that some theologian has come up with saying, the tribulation is a seven year period. You know, who's ever heard this, seven years tribulation? Pretty much the whole room puts up their hand because of the fact that this has been repeated so many times that people simply believe it because they've heard it their whole life. Seven years tribulation, seven years tribulation. You know, just over and over the same thing. It simply is nowhere to be found in the Bible that the tribulation is seven years. In Matthew 24, and by the way, when it mentions tribulation in the book of Revelation, John is talking about himself going through tribulations. And Revelation 2 10 is talking about believers and Christians going through tribulations. And in chapter 7 when the word tribulation is used, it's talking about believers coming out of great tribulation. And so it says in Matthew 24, it says in 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. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let them which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child unto them that give suck in those days. Of course this is Jesus Christ preaching to his disciples. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no one or ever shall be. Now keep your finger in Matthew 24 and go back to Daniel 11. Stay in Matthew 24, go back to Daniel 11. I'm going to show you the similarity here. Now in Daniel chapter 11, the Bible of course is talking about the Antichrist. We saw the abomination of desolation in chapter 11 verse number 31. Now look if you would at chapter 12 verse 1. It says, And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble. Notice that word trouble. There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even at that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered. Then he defines who thy people are, talking to Daniel. Not referring to the Jews, not referring to the physical children of Israel, he says even everyone that shall be found written in the book. Go back to Matthew 24. That is a reference to the book of life, which in Revelation 20 the book of life is open and whosoever was not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. That's talking about going to hell. So those who are in the book of life at that point are those who are saved. So those are who God's people are. Now in Matthew 24, he said there will be tribulation. In Mark 13, a parallel passage, he calls it a time of trouble such as was not since the beginning of the world. Nor nor ever shall be. So Daniel 12.1, Mark 13 and Matthew 24 all talk about the abomination of desolation followed by a time of intense tribulation, great tribulation, great trouble, great affliction such as was not since the world began, nor nor ever shall be. Now, this does not fit in with the seven year tribulation paradigm for a couple of reasons. Number one, the seven years spoken of in the book of Daniel, commonly known as the 70th week of Daniel, the abomination of desolation takes place in the midst of the week according to that. So the part that's called great tribulation doesn't even start until the midst of the week. So there's not room for seven years of this, is there? Well then it gets even worse. Look at Matthew 24 verse 29. It says in Matthew 24, 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Now what does the word elect mean? Chosen, right? He's talking about God's chosen people. Are we talking about the Jews here? No. We're talking about everyone who's written in the book, the Bible says, is the one who's going to be delivered at this time. When Jesus Christ comes in the clouds, the trumpet sounds. But when does it take place? Before the tribulation? At any moment? Right now, at any moment, the trumpet can sound and all the believers are going to disappear. It's a lie. It's a false doctrine. The Bible says after the tribulation, the sun and moon will be darkened. The sun and moon will be darkened at the opening of the sixth seal in Revelation chapter 6. When the sun and moon are darkened, Jesus Christ will come in the clouds, the trumpet will sound and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. But wait a minute. That's after the tribulation, so everything following that isn't the tribulation. Is anything after Jesus comes in the clouds called by the Bible tribulation? No. The Bible never mentions the word tribulation after Revelation chapter 7 when this takes place. Right after the opening of the sixth seal, the word tribulation is never used again. Because when the sun and moon are darkened, according to Matthew 24, it's already after the tribulation. Does everybody see this? So what's called the great tribulation really only lasts, biblically speaking, for three and a half months. It's not seven years, it's not three and a half years. Now the Bible calls the events leading up to the abomination of desolation tribulation. And then he calls what begins at the abomination of desolation great tribulation. And then, of course, Jesus Christ comes in the clouds after the tribulation. And then he pours out his wrath for a period of over three years. And his pouring out of his wrath is never called in the Bible the tribulation. Okay, so sorry to get a little bit too deep tonight. Hopefully you could follow some of what I was just saying. But anyway, let me try to bring it down on the bottom shelf now where even a theologian can understand. Go to 1 John chapter 2 at the end of the New Testament, 1 John chapter 2. And we're going to see some things about who is the antichrist, what is he, because that's pretty much what we're going to see a lot of verses about in Daniel 11. So let's try to understand biblically who the antichrist is. We know the antichrist is going to be the one that's setting up the abomination of desolation. He's going to be a tyrant, he's going to be a ruler that rules over the entire world and demands people to worship him and obey him worldwide. Look at 1 John chapter 2 and let's get the basic understanding of the antichrist. This is actually where the term antichrist comes from. In 1 John chapter 2 the Bible says in verse 18, Little children, it is the last time, and as ye have heard, that antichrist shall come. Now is that singular or plural? One person, right? The antichrist. He says, you've heard that antichrist shall come. Even now are there many antichrists, plural, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it and that know lies of the truth. Here's the key in discussing the antichrist. It says, who is a liar, verse 22, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Now let me break down this passage to you. The word Christ according to the Bible means Messiah. In John chapter 1 when Jesus Christ came on the scene and started calling his disciples unto him, they said, Lo, we found the Messiah which being interpreted is the Christ. So Messiah is just a different language. The Hebrew word Messiah basically is corresponding to the Greek word Christ according to the Bible. It's just an interpretation of the same word. So Christ and Messiah mean the same thing. Well the Bible says here that there's going to be the antichrist who comes, right? But he says that there are many antichrists even now. And in 2 John we're going to see in just a moment, we're going to turn the page to 2 John and see this further reinforced. But what is that spirit of antichrist that's already in the world before the antichrist occurs? Look at 2 John, just one page to the right in your Bible. You're in 1 John chapter 2. If you look at 2 John, a couple pages to the right, it says in verse number 7, For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Do you see that? The one who's saying that Jesus Christ has not come, the Messiah has not yet come. Now, understand this carefully. In 1 John 2 when he says, Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? In order for someone to deny that Jesus is the Christ, they have to believe that there is a Christ. So we're not talking about an atheist here. We're not talking about somebody who just says, I don't believe in God, I'm not religious. No, we're talking about someone who believes that there is a Messiah. That there is a Christ but that Jesus was not that Christ. He says that is antichrist. And then he goes on to say, Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeeth the Son hath the Father also. What religion in this world primarily is the one who's looking for the Messiah and says that he has not yet come but that he's still coming? Judaism. Judaism, okay. Basically Judaism teaches that Jesus was not the Messiah and that the Messiah is still coming. That's what 1 John 2 is rebuking here. He's saying that is an antichrist teaching. That's an antichrist doctrine. Many will try to call us Judeo-Christian. And they'll try to even say in many cases that Jews are saved, even if they don't believe on Jesus Christ. Because they say, well, they're still worshipping the right God. You know, they've got the correct God in the Old Testament. But God says here, if you don't acknowledge the Son, you don't have the Father. Jesus said, if you believe Moses, you'd also believe me, for he's fake of me. You see, it's not possible for somebody to believe the Old Testament without believing the New Testament, according to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, if you believe not his writings, how should he not believe... What did I just say? If you believe not his writings, he said, how should he believe my words? Because it's the same God in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Those who reject the God of the Old Testament reject the God of the New Testament and vice versa. If you believe on the Son, you have the Father also. If you're a true believer of the Father, when Jesus Christ came on the scene, hey, they accepted him and believed him, and his sheep heard his voice right away. Those who were already believing on the Lord, who'd already called upon the Lord in the Old Testament, when Jesus Christ came on the scene, they knew that he was the voice of the true shepherd. You can't have one without the other. It's not that the Jews are somehow halfway there. They are zero percent of the way there. If they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they're not saved. You say, oh, you're anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitic is a word that people throw at somebody just to get them to stop preaching what the Bible clearly says because it's supposed to scare me into not saying what the Bible says. Hey, I'm not scared to get up here and say that, according to the Bible, the religion of Judaism is called anti-Christ. That's what it's called. Now, it has nothing to do with race. You know, people call you a racist for saying it. It has nothing to do with race. The man who's penning these words was Jewish, right? I mean, it's written by John. John was what nationality? Jewish. But was he practicing Judaism? No, he was a Christian. Paul was also a Jew. I mean, obviously, the disciples are Jews. Jesus Christ himself descended from the Jews, right? So what does this have to do with race? People just play that race card just to scare you and intimidate you from telling you the truth about what is really going on in this world and how Judaism is a false religion. And now it's the religion of anti-Christ, because Judaism is basically teaching that the Messiah is still coming. So the anti-Christ, according to the Bible here, 1 John 2 and other places, is going to be a man who comes and he basically claims to be the Messiah, right? He's going to come on the scene and he's going to say, Hey, I am the Christ. I'm the Messiah. He's going to claim to be God in the flesh, just as Jesus Christ claimed to be God in the flesh. Go, if you would, to 2 Thessalonians 2. Go to 2 Thessalonians 2. It's amazing how people throw around that term anti-Semitism, and they don't even understand what it means or where it comes from. The word anti-Semitic comes from the name of a person in the Bible named Shem, who happens to be the ancestor of one-third of the human race, including the Arab world, okay? And so people will call Arabs anti-Semitic in many cases, and people who disagree with something politically or people who say something about our involvement in the Middle East, why we're involved in all these foreign wars, that we have no business being involved in, it's just, oh, you're anti-Semitic, right? It's just they throw that down just to get you to be afraid to tread on these subjects and so forth. Look, I'm not anti-Semitic, okay? I'm just standing up here and preaching to you what the Bible says, and I don't care what people think about that, you know? That's what it says. And so it's talking about Judaism in 1 John 2. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, and we'll see more about the Antichrist. It says in verse number 1 of chapter 2, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him. Right? So this is referring again to His coming in the clouds, gathering us together unto Him. He says in verse 2, 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. So what is He saying here? What did He just say in verse 2? He said, look, don't let anybody trick you or fool you into thinking that the day of Christ is at hand. Don't let anybody deceive you into thinking 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. So according to the Bible, the day of Christ will not happen until what? The Antichrist is revealed, and basically pronounces himself God in the flesh. Well, that takes place at the abomination of desolation in the midst of the week, and he says the day of Christ will not happen until that happens first. Now, in Daniel chapter 11, which you're wondering when I was ever going to get to Daniel chapter 11, but keep your finger in 2 Thessalonians 2 because we'll go back there. Now that we've got some basic knowledge from the New Testament, let's apply this to Daniel chapter 11 here. In Daniel 11 31, it talks about the Antichrist setting up the abomination of desolation, which is found in Matthew, Mark, etc. He says in verse number 36, talking about the Antichrist, And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god. Same exact language as is found in 2 Thessalonians 2 where we just read. And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces, and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones and pleasant things. So we see here that this is clearly talking about the Antichrist. Again, the timing is the same. Abomination of desolation first, that's where he pronounces himself as god and magnifies himself above all gods. You say, well Pastor Anderson, how is this going to work? I thought the Antichrist is going to take over the whole world. Is Judaism the only group that's looking for this Messiah? No. Because if you look around the world today, you can see that pretty much the major religions of the world are all looking for a messianic figure. We already talked about Judaism, called by the Bible, the religion of Antichrist, the synagogue of Satan. But think about this. What about apostate Christianity? Christianity on the whole is looking for what? The second coming of Jesus Christ, right? And when do they say it's going to happen? At any moment. Okay, now think about this. What does the Bible say who's going to come first? First, the Antichrist is going to come, claiming to be who? Jesus Christ, God, the second coming. That's what we saw in 2 Thessalonians. He said, don't let anybody deceive you by any means that the day of Christ is at hand. Now, hmm, that makes me think that there's someone out there trying to deceive people that the day of Christ is at hand, and that's what I'm supposed to watch out for. So, the day of Christ is not at hand, but someone out there wants me to think it's at hand because according to the Bible, who's coming first? Jesus Christ? The Antichrist comes first. And who is false Christianity? Those who claim to be Christianity, which is the majority of so-called Christianity, which is not really a Bible-believing Christianity, who are they going to receive? When the Antichrist comes, they're basically going to think this is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Now, those who are saved and just don't, you know, they're mixed up about the end times and think that the rap's going to happen at any moment, obviously they're not going to worship the Antichrist because they're saved, they have the Holy Spirit. They're going to know that he's an imposter because Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, they will not follow another, but a stranger will they flee from, for they know not the voice of strangers. The Bible says the Antichrist, however, will be so convincing that he would deceive the very elect if it were possible, which means it's not possible. So no true believer in Jesus Christ will be deceived by the Antichrist. But the majority of so-called apostate, non-Bible-believing, so-called Christianity is going to hail him as the second coming of Jesus Christ because that's who they're expecting to come at any moment. We as Bible-believing Christians, who do we expect to come on the scene at any time? The Antichrist. Now, it may not even be in our lifetime, we don't know when it's going to take place, but we could see it happening very, it could happen very soon, it could happen 100 years from now, it could happen, you know, two years from now, we don't know when it's going to happen. But we're not expecting Jesus to come at any moment. We're expecting the Antichrist to come pretending to be Jesus, okay? And that's what's going to happen. So we see how the Jews are looking for it, right? And then we can also see how apostate Christianity is looking for it. Well, you say, what about Islam? Well, it's funny, lately I've done a lot of soul-winding in areas where I was running into a lot of Muslims. And I've actually talked to a lot of Muslims lately out door-knocking that actually allowed me to go through the whole plan of salvation with them. I gave them the whole gospel. And I've seen several Muslims saved through the years as well, and even baptized. But the thing is, if you talk to Muslims, and lately in talking to these Muslims, they all say the same thing. They explain how there's been this succession of major prophets, okay? And they basically name Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. And here's what they say. Successively, basically God has been revealing more truth to mankind, what mankind was ready for, you know? And it's gone through this succession. It's funny, I saw a video, a part of President Ahmadinejad's speech before the U.N. that he made just recently. Who heard part of that speech, or you heard about that? Is there anybody else? But anyway, he made this speech before the U.N. And one thing that blew me away is how he just gets up and just starts preaching his religion. You know, and it's funny how our leaders, if any of them were saved Christians, which probably none of them are, you know they wouldn't have the backbone to get up and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in front of the United Nations, you know? But this guy just comes, you know, the Christians would have the boldness to get up and preach, hey, we believe I'm the Lord Jesus Christ, heaven and hell, you know? But basically this guy comes in, you know, Ahmadinejad, and just preaches his Islamic religion. And it's amazing what he said in that speech to the United Nations. He basically explained what I'm explaining to you, the succession of these four prophets, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, okay? Of course, we know Mohammed to be a false prophet because he denied everything that the previous three said, which wouldn't make any sense, okay? But they are looking for what they call the fifth imam. You know, basically they're ready for the next prophet to show up on the scene. You know, that's going to be great, because this is what they say, Mohammed is greater than Jesus. They say Jesus is greater than Moses. They say Moses is greater than Abraham. And they're ready for their fifth imam to show up on the scene. And guess who it's going to be? The Antichrist. He's going to show up and they're going to say, this is the fifth teacher. You know, this is the fifth great prophet in succession. And when they say that, they'll go for it. You say, what about the Latter-day Saints, the Mormons? Oh, they'll be easy, because they pretty much just believe whatever their prophet tells them. And their prophet changes what he believes whenever he feels like it. And the Mormon religion dramatically changes over the years. And whenever their Mormon prophet, and they basically believe that whatever he says supersedes what's in the Bible or anything else. And so when their current Mormon prophet stands up and says, this is the second coming of Jesus Christ, well, guess what? They're going to go for it, because they believe whatever that guy says, because it's a religion that's structured that way. You know, need I say more? I could go through every religion and explain, but do you see a pattern here? Do you see how things are falling into place? We can see the one-world government forming. We can see all the prophecies of the Bible coming true about how one day there will be a cashless society where basically no one will be able to buy or sell without having a mark in their forehead or in their hand if you're reading a King James Bible. Modern versions, such as the New Illuminati version, the NIV, change that to on your hand or on your forehead, change Christ's first coming to the new order in Hebrews chapter 9, and make many other changes to attack this doctrine. But we can see these things coming to pass, a one-world government, a one-world religion, the calling out for everyone to put aside doctrinal differences, because we all worship the same God. Let's all join together. And boy, this man, the Antichrist, will unite. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, I mean, he'll unite them all. But there's only one catch. You know, if you don't go with the flow, you get your head cut off. You know, that's the only catch. Everything else is going to be great. I mean, he's going to world peace. You know, he's going to bring peace. But some people will be killed, obviously, because whenever these messianic leaders have come throughout history, and of course all of them have paled in comparison to the Antichrist, who will be the greatest messianic, dictator, tyrant of all time, they all have something in common. They all have this philosophy that says, you know, we might have to kill a few million people to make this work. You know, look at the leaders of the 20th century, the dictators, the Mao Tse Tungs, the Stalin's, the Lenin's, the Hitler's. You know, they all basically massacred and killed off people who would not conform, wouldn't go along with the book. You say, that's far-fetched, no one would go. How did it work in Germany, Russia, Cambodia, China? It's happened throughout history, and you could say it'll never happen here, but wait a minute, man is man. One thing that I've learned in traveling the world and talking to people of different cultures is that a man is a man. Human beings are human beings, and people are pretty much alike everywhere. You know what I mean? And, you know, a messianic leader, such as a Mao Tse Tung, what's the guy in Korea, the weird-looking guy in Korea? What's that guy? Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-il, you know, Adolf Hitler, you know, can come on the scene. And basically, it's not just that there's something inherently wrong with those nationalities. Oh, man, these Germans, you know, they're just bad people. Or, oh, it's just the Chinese. It has nothing to do with that. It's just the government that they have in place, and you could see a herd mentality in the United States, just like there's a herd mentality in those other countries, and there'll be a pressure to conform and go along with the flow, you know, or else you're siding with the terrorists or whatever, you know, whatever they're going to say. You know, if you don't receive this chip in your hand, you love terrorists. You know, you're Al-Qaeda or whatever. So who knows what it's going to be, but we can see it all taking shape. Let's go to Daniel 11 here and get some of the nuances. I wanted to lay that foundation, just in case you're not really sure who the Antichrist is or what his purpose is. He basically comes on the earth with one mission, to basically kill all Christians and take over the whole world. And Satan is going to be cast out of heaven at the opening of the first seal. Satan is going to put them in power and declare war on God's people. They're going to be persecuted and in many cases killed. And then basically Jesus Christ is going to return, cut short the reign of the Antichrist. He's going to come in the clouds and pour out his wrath and so forth. And at the end of his wrath, he's going to come back. We'll be in heaven for several years and then we'll come back with Jesus Christ and he'll set up his reign of peace on this earth for 1,000 years of peace on earth with the devil banished to hell for 1,000 years after which time he'll be released. But that's another sermon. Let's go to Daniel 11 and pick up some more of the highlights. So we saw in Daniel 11 talked about the abomination of desolation. We saw that at the time of the abomination of desolation, the Antichrist will declare himself to be God, set himself up above all gods. We saw that there will be a time of trouble, another word for tribulation, another word used interchangeably with tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world and those that are written in the book will be delivered at that time, speaking of the rapture, of course, which we saw in Daniel 7, the rapture, Jesus Christ come in the clouds in Daniel 7 and so forth. Let's look at a few other things that we missed. Look at Daniel 11 verse 32. This is right after the abomination of desolation is mentioned in 31. It says, And such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries. This is speaking of the Antichrist. But the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Now I think this is interesting that as God talks about the end times here, when the Antichrist is already on the scene, he's corrupting the world, he's taking over the world, people all over the world are worshiping him as God. The people that do know their God will be strong and do exploits. A lot of people have tried to teach a false doctrine from Revelation 2 and 3 that the seven literal churches that are mentioned there, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, that those are somehow periods of time, not literal places, but periods of time. And they'll say, we're living in the Laodicean church age, because the last church mentioned is Laodicea. Who's ever heard that talk? Hands go up all over the book, of course. And the Laodicean church was a physical church located in a real city called Laodicea that existed long, long ago in the peninsula up to modern day Turkey. And in Laodicea, the Bible says they were very lukewarm and they were weak and God was disgusted by how lukewarm they were. He's trying to tell them to be zealous and so forth. And many will try to say that's the day we're living in. But according to the Bible, the last days will be characterized by some of the greatest Christians who've ever lived. There will be people of God who basically are very strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and will do great exploits for God, according to this right here. Keep reading and he'll explain further. He said at the end of verse 32, but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits and they that understand among the people shall instruct many. So basically he's talking about during this time of tribulation, there will be godly righteous people who will instruct many, who will be preaching the gospel to many, many people. So there will be a time when the gospel is being preached and where there are great Christians and great men and women of God doing great things for God. So let's not have this defeated attitude that this dispensationalist garbage of this Laodicean church age doctrine, well, we just got to hang on, you know, just waiting for that trumpet to sound. Hopefully it's tomorrow, you know, so I don't have to take care of the responsibilities in my life, you know. And it's getting bad. Hopefully we'll be gone tomorrow. No, that's not true. We're going to endure tribulation, but the Bible teaches that they need to be strong and do know their God. Hey, they're going to do exploits. They're going to do great things for God. They're going to instruct many. And this may be in our lifetime. It may not be in our lifetime, but a defeated attitude is not to be found here. The Bible says, Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison. Revelation 2 10. That ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. That's what God expects. God expects us to be faithful unto death like Stephen, who was stoned for what he believed, calling upon God as he was stoned for preaching God's word. Other people in the Bible, James, the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve disciples, was slain by the sword of Herod. John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod. But he says here, They that understand among the people shall instruct many, verse 33, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, by spoil many days. This is congruous with what it says in Revelation 13, when it says that the antichrist will make war against the saints and will overcome them, will defeat them. He's saying they're going to fall by the sword. They're going to fall by flame and captivity. It says in verse 34, Now when they shall fall, they shall be hoping with a little help, but many shall cleave to them with flatteries, and some of them of understanding shall fall to try them and to purge and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed. So according to the Bible here, some of those who are going to go through great persecution and tribulation and be imprisoned or even killed for the cause of Christ, part of that is God trying them, testing them, building their faith, and we as God's people all throughout history, whether we're living in this time or not, have always gone through trials and tribulations. The Bible said 2,000 years ago, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And it's always been that way, and it always will be that way. And we go through persecution and tribulation in our life many times to build us up and strengthen us. You see, when our life is a bed of roses, many times we begin to drift from the things of God. When everything's going great, when everything's easy, when it doesn't cost you anything to serve God, you become comfortable, lukewarm, lazy, complacent. But when the pressure's on, when the battle's on, it can strengthen you, it keeps you on edge, it keeps you walking with God, it keeps you praying, it keeps you reading the Bible, because you have to, you know, because you're not just coasting through life. And so he says here that much of it will be to try them, to purge them, to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed, and the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself. This is the sign of a wicked person, by the way, someone who exalts themself and lifts themself up. Now, pride. It's funny because you look around at our leaders today. And they exalt themselves. Just, if you'll listen to what I'm saying right now, and then from now on, when you listen to political speeches and debates, just keep what I'm about to say to you in your mind, you will see how true this is. Politicians constantly are praising themselves. They say the type of things that if you or I said in normal conversation, we would sound like a pompous, arrogant, boasting windbag. I'm proud of my right. I did this, I'm this. And if you think about what I'm saying to you right now, next time you listen to one of these debates or speeches, it's just me, me, me. Look how good I am. Look what I've done. When this country was founded, did you know that it was considered shameful and dishonorable to even campaign for yourself? To even say that you're running? I mean, back then, it was considered more appropriate that people would just select you. I think it was Thomas Jefferson who won the office, he won the election for President of the United States. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson, or maybe I have it wrong, but he basically, I know for a fact it was Thomas Jefferson that at some point won an office that he wasn't even running for at all. He had never even announced his candidacy, and it's like, you won. You know, you're the president. Because the Bible says, But another man praised thee, and not thine own mouth. And it's not seemly for someone to walk around boasting and prideful and praising themselves. And it's a sign of a bad person. And pretty much across the board, you listen to these debates and political speeches today, and it's just, I'm wonderful. You know what, politicians I like? The very few who will just get up and say, here's what the issues are. Here's what I think about this, and here's what we need to do here. Here's what we need to do here. But they're not just up there tooting their own horn. Other people may praise them, but they're not praising themselves. And we should never go around telling people how wonderful we are. First of all, we shouldn't go around with an attitude of thinking that we're so wonderful in the first place. Because out of the abundance of the mouth, or out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth's speaking. You know, if that's what's in your heart, it's going to come out. And these self-centered, self-absorbed, self-righteous politicians, instead of talking about doctrine, instead of talking about issues, it's just about, I'm wonderful, I'm great, look what I've done. I'm proud of what I've done. You know, and that's a sign of a wicked leader. That's what the anti-Christ is going to be like. He's going to be a self-glorifying individual. It says he's going to exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done. Now let's talk about that verse, because that verse mentions multiple gods. And a lot of people will take verses like this and try to twist it into saying that more than one god exists. Let's keep our finger there and go to Psalm 96, right in the dead center of the Bible, the book of Psalms, if you just let it fall open right in the center. In Psalm chapter 96, we were just here on Sunday morning, because a lot of people will take verses out of context. And pretty much, if you want to just take a verse out of context, the Bible is such a huge, thick book that you can take verses out of context and pretty much prop up whatever kind of doctrine that you want, because there's so much there. If you just take one sentence and run with it, you can prop it up. That's why the Bible has to be looked at as a whole. That's why I encourage you, if you never have, before you even begin to talk about what the Bible says, read it cover to cover one time. Get the big picture. And today, most churches will preach a whole sermon on one verse. You don't get the big picture. They take a microscope to one verse. They don't even know the context of the whole Bible, the whole story. Read the Bible cover to cover. If you read it for 15 minutes a day, you'll be done in one year. 15 minutes a day, one year, you'll have read it cover to cover. And even reading it once, you're not going to have the big picture. I mean, read it again and again and again. Get the whole picture here. The Bible is consistent on this subject. There is only one God. There does not exist another God. There has never been another God, and there never will be another God. It says in Psalm 96, for example, it says in verse 4, For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised, He is to be feared above all gods. See, right there you have it, multiple gods, right? There's all these other gods, but God is just the best one. But no, read the next verse. It says, He is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the nations are idols. And if you let the Bible define the word idol, it's talking about a piece of stone or wood or gold or silver that someone claims is God, which have eyes but they see not, ears they have but they hear not. He said they can't walk, they can't talk. He said they're just a hunk of inanimate object that someone has deceived themselves into thinking he's God. So He says here, the reason God is above all gods is because all the other gods are idols. Okay, go to 1 Corinthians 8, and you'll see this even more clearly explained. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 8. While you're turning there, I'll tell you a story. Just less than a week ago, I was out knocking doors, or maybe it was a little over a week ago. I was with Brother Segura, and we knocked on the door of the Mormon guy. Okay? We were just right here, just a mile away. We knocked on the door of a Mormon guy, and we're talking to him. He was polite to us. We gave him the whole gospel, went through the whole plan of salvation with him for about 10 minutes, just showing him that salvation is just by believing on Jesus Christ. He wasn't seeing it. He was still saying, No, I think you still have to do works. You still have to earn it. He couldn't grasp the fact that it's a gift, that Jesus paid it, and we just need to believe on Christ. He wasn't grasping that. So that was the main discussion that we talked about. But somehow at the very end of the conversation, we got on this subject of, I said, Basically, you guys believe that there's more than one God. Because I think he said something about how, and this is what a lot of Mormons will try to tell me, they'll try to say, Well, we pretty much believe the same thing as you. They kind of have this attitude of, Hey, I'm with you. We're with you. Because they want to be accepted. I'm not trying to be accepted. You know what I mean? I'm accepted by Jesus Christ, and that's the only acceptance that I need. But basically, they want to be accepted. So you know what I'm talking about. When you knock at the door of these Mormons, it's like, Oh yeah, we were like you. We believe like you. A lot of people think that they get us all wrong. We're like you. So that's kind of the way this attitude is from them. So I basically told them, I said, Well, not really. Because we believe there's only one God. Oh, so do we. And I said, Well, I said, I said, That's funny because I said I've asked like scores of Mormon missionaries about this and they all, once I pinned them down, they all admitted that you guys believe that there is more than one God. I don't know who you were talking to because that's not what we believe at all. You know, I'm like, Come on, you know. I wasn't born yesterday. You know what I mean? It's like, as they say in German, Do you think I put my pants on with a pair of pliers? That's a really weird expression. Anyway, that's what they say. That's what my wife's mom said. But anyway, the bottom line is, you know, Come on, who are you kidding? So this guy is saying, No, we only believe there's only one God. I'm like, I'm like, Wait a minute. Don't you believe there's other gods out there? I know you're saying you only worship one, but you're saying there's other gods. No, no, there's only one this and that. You know, and I said, Well, I said, Well, what about this? I said, What about this quote from Brigham Young? You know, and I had it in my pocket. Just happened to have it. I pulled it out and showed it to him. I said, What about this? I'm like, Did Brigham Young say this? And it was about how there's all these other gods and stuff. And I said, Didn't he say this about these other gods? And I said, I said, Don't you guys believe that gods are created being? Because that's what this quote from Brigham Young said, and that means he was created by a different god, right? And the guy's like, Well, what do you do with all the verses in the Bible that talk about multiple gods? So isn't it funny how the guy before is saying, No, no, we're like you, we're like you, there's only one. And then all of a sudden I show him his quote, and now all of a sudden it's, Well, there's tons of places in the Bible that say gods that talk about more than one god. I'm like, I thought you only believe in one. You know what I mean? Well, we only believe in one, you know, but that doesn't mean there's not other ones out there. Other planets, other star systems, other galaxies, you know, and you know, Mormonism would have made a great episode for the Twilight Zone, you know, before it went off the air. But anyway, basically, you know, you're traveling to another dimension, a dimension of sight and sound, you know, a dimension where there have always been gods producing other gods on other planets. You know, there's a signpost up ahead, your next stop, the Mormon Zone. But anyway, you know, it's funny how he changes too, but they'll take verses like this, and here's one in 1 Corinthians 8 that I've had Jehovah's Witnesses also who believe in multiple gods, as the Mormons do, pull out and use where it says in verse number, verse 5, 1 Corinthians 8, 5, it says, For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God. Okay, but read the passage in verse 4. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world. Compare this to what we just read in Psalm 96, right? It says we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other god but one. He's saying we know that these idols aren't really other gods. You know, they're just nothing. They're just an idol, okay? And he says this, and that there's none other god but one, for though there be that are called gods. So he's saying, look, there are things that are called gods, but are they really a god? No, they're nothing, but they're called gods. He said, as there be gods many and lords many. I've heard Jehovah's Witnesses say, there be gods many and there be lords many. You know, but they failed to see here that he's saying that they're nothing. They're just called gods. But to us there is but one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge, for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour, and on and on he explains about things being offered in sacrifice unto idols. Go to chapter 10. Here's the key. In chapter number 10, he explains what they're worshipping when they worship these idols. He says in verse number 14, Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless is not the communion of the blood of Christ. The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? And jump down, if you would, to verse 19. It says, What say I then, that the idol is anything? He's like, look, I'm not saying that the idol is anything. I'm not saying that it has spirit. It's an inanimate object. For that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? He's saying, that's not what I'm saying. Here's what I am saying in verse 20. He says, But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to what? To devils. And not to God. And I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. So basically, what are the people who are bowing down worshipping idols really worshipping? Now, devils. Because in the Old Testament, remember, their false gods were called Baalim, Baal. And in one place it's called Baal-zebub. And in the New Testament, that is put together into one word, Beelzebub, referred to as Satan by Jesus Christ. So basically, all the false gods of the Old Testament, so-called lower case G gods, such as Ashtaroth, Molech, Baal-zebub, Baal-Ekron, all these different false gods, they were really devils. They're really worshipping these devils. And that's why, according to the Bible, they were doing human sacrifices. They were doing all these other really horrible things because it was a satanic religion. And so those gods do not exist. There is only one God. The Bible says, and this is the last place we'll turn tonight. I've got to close for the sake of time. Look at Isaiah 43. Isaiah chapter 43 is the last place we'll turn. Isaiah chapter 43, verse number 10, the Bible reads, and I don't think this passage could be any more clear. I mean, there are many passages in the New Testament, like 1 Timothy 2, where it says there's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. But look at this verse. This is very clear. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. So that's pretty clear, isn't it? The Bible's clear. He said there was no God before me, no God after me, there never will be. I'm He, there's none else. I'm the Lord. That's all there is. I am that I am. And so let's bow our heads and pray for the sake of time. But Father, we thank you so much for the Word of God and this difficult chapter, Daniel 11, a lot of battles, a lot of kings. But we can learn from these passages, dear God, in chapter 11 about these tyrants, these dictators, these tyrannical rulers, and then someday the ultimate tyrannical ruler, which will be the Antichrist, dear God. Help us to understand these things so that when we see them coming, we can recognize them afar off and not be taken by surprise, that it may not overtake us as a thief in the night. The Bible says that we are not in darkness, that thy day should overtake us as a thief, referring to your coming, dear God. So please help us to be watching and ready and to understand the Word of God and help us to read the whole thing, get it into context, and not get bogged down by man's definitions. But to study to show ourselves approved. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.