This sermon delves into the prophecies in the book of Daniel, focusing on the visions of Daniel regarding future events, including the rise of powerful empires, the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes as a type of the Antichrist, and the ultimate establishment of God's kingdom. It emphasizes the importance of being wise, shining like stars forever, and understanding the signs of the end times to be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ.

Let's turn in our Bibles to Daniel chapter 10. In the third year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. And the thing was true, but the time appointed was long, and he understood the thing, and he had understanding of the vision. So the third year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, is when Daniel received this particular vision. That was about the year 538 BC. And so in those days, Daniel said, I was mourning for three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine to my mouth, and neither did I anoint myself at all, till the three whole weeks were fulfilled. This is a partial fast. You know, when we talk about fasting, usually we're thinking about a total fast, but you know that isn't always convenient or isn't always possible. It could be that you want to fast, but you have to keep up your strength, and you know that you can't go on a total fast, and thus many times people just don't fast at all. But here is Daniel on a partial fast, and what he is fasting is pastries, no pleasant bread, neither meat nor wine in my mouth, and neither did I anoint myself at all till the three whole weeks were fulfilled. So it's interesting to know that God honors a partial fast and that it can be a very profitable way of fasting. And in the fourth and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hittikal, which is the Tigris, then I lifted up my eyes and I looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with fine gold of Euphrates. His body also was like burl, and his face like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polish brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, I saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness or beauty was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the voice of the words, and when I heard the voice of the words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands, and he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright, for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me now for twenty days, but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. And now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall the people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days. Interesting to note, here is Daniel, he's twenty-one days waiting on the Lord in a partial fast, seeking God, and now the angel of the Lord comes to let Daniel know that God has heard his prayer, and the angel had been dispatched to give Daniel the answer. But he talks about being taken, or having a battle with the prince of Persia. There is a spiritual warfare that is going on constantly around us, of which, for the most part, we are totally unaware. But here is an insight into the spirit realm, and the spiritual warfare that was going on. Daniel had been praying and seeking the Lord for some answers, and actually the angel was dispatched to give him the answers, but the angel was hindered by the prince of Persia, or by the powers of Persia, that is, the powers behind the throne. And it does seem that in the world today, there are powers that are behind the thrones that really are controlling the destiny of the various nations. And so, the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for the twenty-one days, but Michael, the chief of the princes. Now we know that Michael is one of what is called the archangels, one of the chief angels in heaven. It is interesting to me that this indicates to us that angels are ranked in order. There are various orders of angels, and some have greater authority than others. The principalities and powers and all are references to various rankings of angels that do exist. And so, here is one of the chief angels, Michael, the archangel, and he came and set this particular messenger to Daniel free from the captivity that he was experiencing when he was fighting against the princes or the angels of darkness that were controlling Persia. So, just an interesting insight into behind the scenes what we can't see, but what does exist in the spirit realm that surrounds us. And when he had spoken such words unto me, Daniel said, I set my face toward the ground and I became dumb. And behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips and opened my mouth and spake and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me and I've retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord, as for me straightway there remain no strength in me and neither is there any breath left in me. And there came again and touched me one like an appearance of a man and he strengthened me. And he said, O man, greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened and he said, let my Lord speak for thou hast strengthened me. And then he said, knowest thou wherefore I've come unto thee? And now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. And when I'm gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. So we know that the Grecian empire is going to follow the Persian empire. But these empires are ruled by the spirits of darkness. 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. So this is just giving you a little kind of a background to the message that Daniel is going to be receiving here in chapter 11. And so it's just sort of, well, it gives you just the background and what more can you say? Also, he said in the first year of Darius, and so the mead. And so this is a different vision and it's coming at a different time. And he said, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now I will show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than they all. And by his strength and through his riches shall he stir up all against the realm of Grecia. So the three kings of Persia that are mentioned here were to, they've been proved to be Cambyses, Pseudo-Smyrdas, and Darius Hisatapis. And they're called in Ezra Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes, and Darius. The fourth king who was to be far richer than all was Xerxes, and he is called Ahasuerus in the book of Esther. And he is a proud, self-willed monarch who invaded Greece with his mighty army when the Persian power was at its height. And after his defeat, the kings who succeeded him decreased in power. And Alexander the Great took the center of the world stage, and hence the prophecy of verse three, a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. And he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and he'll be divided into the four winds of heaven, and not unto his posterity, nor according to his dominion, which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up even for others beside those. And then from our study in chapter eight, we've seen that every detail that is repeated here was literally fulfilled in the Grecian empire. And Alexander the Great swiftly conquered the great empire, and he died childless, and his kingdom was divided, not to his posterity or not to his children, but among the four leading generals whose power was not according to his kingdom, that is, they were not nearly as strong as Alexander the Great. Therefore, the mighty king of Grecia mentioned here is identical with the he goat that we read of in chapter eight. He is referred to here also in chapter eight because the Antichrist will arise out of this part of the Roman empire over which Alexander ruled. So in verses now five to 35, we have an account of what is known in the history as the wars of the Ptolemies, the kings of Egypt, and the kings of Syria. And there's a long series of conflicts covering a period of 120 years. Syria on the north, Egypt on the south of Palestine, and they became bitter enemies. And there were two of the fragments into which Alexander's empire had been divided. And as they fought their battles, they use the land of Israel as a battleground. Moreover, Syria was not only a deadly enemy of Egypt, but she also hated Daniel's people with an intense hatred. So as we move on in verse five, talking about the king of the south was Ptolemy Soter and one of his princes, verse five, was Seleucus, to whom Syria was given. And the latter was stronger than the former and his dominion was a great dominion. And then in verse six, the prediction was fulfilled in the marriage of Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy, Philadelphus, unto Antiochus Theos, the third king of Syria in BC 285-247. And thus the ruling house of Egypt and Syria sought to bring about an alliance of political importance for the father of Berenice gave her in marriage to a northern king in order to end his war with the latter. And this Antiochus, in order to marry Berenice, divorced his wife, Laodice, and disinherited her son. But the marriage of Berenice to Syria's king failed to bring about peace. And Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, died, wherein Antiochus, the king of Syria, took back his former wife, Laodice, and she in turn poisoned him, put to death Berenice and her son. And Laodice placed her own son, Seleucus Nicator, upon the throne. So you can see that you're coming into a period of real confusion and, you know, the intrigues and so forth as the wars between the leader of Egypt and the leader of Syria were constantly battling and between Syria and Egypt, of course, was the promised land. And so the land of Israel became really sort of a battlefield between the northern and southern powers. In verses seven to nine, we read, but out of the branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come in with an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and will deal against them and shall prevail, and shall also carry captives into Egypt, their gods with their princes and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. And so the king of the south shall come into his kingdom and shall return into his own land. It tells us how the brother of Berenice, a branch of her roots, avenged the wrong that was done against his sister. That brother was Ptolemy Eurydice and the next king of Egypt. He invaded Syria, even to the Euphrates. He killed Laodicea and returned to Egypt with 40,000 talents of silver, precious vessels, and 2,400 images, including Egyptian idols, which Cambyses had carried from Egypt into Persia. The idolatrous Egyptians were so gratified that they named him Eugertes, or benefactor, and Ptolemy survived Seleucus for four years, even as God had foretold in the vision which he gave to Daniel in verse eight. So the king of the south entered into his kingdom with great spoils, verse nine. Now the amazing thing about this is that as Daniel is writing this, this is before all of these events took place. And he writes with such accuracy the things that would be transpiring that those who are what you call Bible critics today have a real difficult time with the book of Daniel because they said no one can write in advance the things that are going to happen with such accuracy. And thus the book of Daniel had a second author and he wrote after the events because he defines and declares them with such detail and accuracy that they figure that's impossible to do and thus they wrote after the fact rather than before the fact. But they have found copies of the book of Daniel that do predate really the dates that these skeptics have tried to put on the book of Daniel and the book of Daniel does stand very strong and very powerful. Now in verses 10 to 19 we have the account of the wars of Antiochus the Great, the father of Antiochus Epiphanes and they tell us of the wars of Antiochus the Great with the king of Syria against his enemies and especially against the king of Egypt. And this Antiochus was one of the two sons who was stirred up against Egypt's king in verse 10. And upon the death of his father the latter upon the death of his brother he regained all of the land of Syria which had been subjugated by Ptolemy Eugertes and the king of the south Ptolemy Philippator, the son of Ptolemy Eugertes moved with color, verse 11, against Antiochus. He killed 10,000 of the Syria's army. He took 4,000 captives and the king of Egypt had previously killed his own father, mother and brother and was licentious and his heart was lifted up and verse 12 and through pride instead of following the advantages of his victory over Syria he settled down in laziness and he was not strengthened by his successes, verse 12. The son of this evil king of Egypt was Ptolemy Epiphanes, a mere child when 14 years after his defeat Antiochus returned to fight against Egypt and among the many who stood up against Egypt's king at the time, verse 14, were the rebels in Egypt and Daniel's people, verse 14, were factious Jews who rebelled against Ptolemy joining themselves with Antiochus hoping to gain independence for Palestine and so doing they established or fulfilled the vision given to Daniel yet their efforts came to naught there in verse 14. So again going on and giving you details and describing the things that were transpiring with such accuracy and thus the war between Syria and Egypt continued with Palestine as the battleground for it is the glorious land which was consumed and made desolate by the invading armies and in verses 15 and 16. Then Antiochus the Great, the king of Syria, turned from the open assault to wily practices by his war with the Romans in his endeavor to extend his kingdom to its former limits. He gave his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes, the king of Egypt against whom he had fought for a long time promising Judah and other lands as dowry and by this scheme he hoped to hold a neutral position in the war with Rome securing also much territory but his daughter Cleopatra who you've heard about, not Elizabeth Taylor, but anyhow she did not stand on his side neither was she for him in verse 17 instead she took the part of her husband the king of Egypt and Antiochus turned his face under the aisles verse 18 he took many of the islands of Greece there in the Aegean Sea in his war with the Romans but a prince for his own behalf caused the reproach offered by him to cease and without his own reproach that is with untarnished reputation the prince defeated Antiochus for his own glory and that prince was Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, a Roman general who compelled the king of Syria to relinquish all of the territory west of the Tartarus and defray the expenses of the war therefore Antiochus turned his face toward the fort in his own land in verse 19 attempting to plunder the temple of Jupiter at Elemaeus by night and whether through avarice or want of money to pay the tribute that was imposed by Rome of a thousand talents but he was slain with his soldiers in an insurrection of the inhabitants and then were filled the closing words of the prophecy there in verse 19 but he shall stumble and fall and not be found and thus the evil rule of his brother Antiochus Epiphanes who was a razor of taxes verse 20 was the son of Antiochus the great who ruled Syria after his father had been slain and his name was Seleucus a fellow pater and it was he who was compelled by Rome to raise taxes for tribute in verse 20 and he caused the temple in Jerusalem to be plundered was betrayed and poisoned by the very man whom he had used to perform this sacrilege and he was succeeded to the throne of Syria by his brother who was a very vile person described in verses 21 through 35 of our chapter as well as in chapter 8 of Daniel's prophecy and thus he came to pass that when a few days Seleucus was destroyed neither in anger nor in battle that is not in a popular outbreak or an open battle verse 20 the few days were really 12 years but few when compared to the 37 years of his father's reign and thus the wars with Antiochus Epiphanes that vile person in verses 21 through 35 the vision describes Syria's wicked blasphemous King of whom we read in chapter 8 and this he was called the little horn chapter 8 verse 9 and there the record is given of his defilement of the Jewish sanctuary when he offered a pig on the sacred altar erected a temple the Jupiter and in our study of this earlier chapter we saw that God gave Daniel a detailed description of Antiochus Epiphanes because he is a type of the Antichrist who is to come called the beast and he will defile the sanctuary setting up his own image to be worshipped and persecuting to death all who refuse to give him divine honors and so we find that from on down to the verse 35 the description of this Antiochus Epiphanes and the reign that he has the wickedness of this man in fact the man is so wicked he becomes an interesting type of the Antichrist in the scriptures and so as you read on through verse 35 the history of Antiochus Epiphanes and his such a horrible man that he is identified with the Antichrist so in verse 22 the prince was Ptolemy Philometer the son of his own sister Cleopatra and after the league made with him Antiochus worked deceitfully taking with him a small people at first in order to escape suspicion he entered peaceably literally unexpectedly even upon the fattest places of the province and doing that which his father's had not done nor his father's father's verse 24 in other words he took possession of Memphis and all of Egypt as far as Alexandria something which the former kings of Syria had sought to do in vain and then the they were fulfilled in part the words of the latter portion of verse 24 where he shall scatter among them the prey and the spoil and the riches and shall forecast his devices against the strongholds even for a time and he defiles the Jewish sanctuary and he it was on the return of Antiochus to Syria that the words of verse 28 were fulfilled but it was then that he offered the pig on the sacred altar in Jerusalem and of this prophecy tells us then shall he return into his own land with great riches his heart will be against the Holy Covenant and he will do exploits and return to his own land so at this time that vile person attacked Jerusalem he killed 80,000 people he took 40,000 prisoners he sold 40,000 as slaves he entered the sanctuary but blasphemies he took away the gold in the silver vessels and he sacrificed pigs on the altar and sprinkled the broth of their flesh through the temple and his purpose of course was to thoroughly defile the temple and his expulsion from Egypt by the Romans verse 29 tells us that the next expedition of Alex of Antiochus into Egypt but he was not as the former or as the latter for this ships of Shittim came against him therefore he was grieved and returned and had indignation against the Holy Covenant there in verse 29 the ships of Shittim were a Macedonian Grecian vessels and the term Shittim properly Cyprian the so-called from the Phoenician colony in Cyprus was later applied to the isles and to the coast of the Mediterranean in general and these ships the Romans came against Antiochus and brought his expedition into Egypt to a close and he then sought to take vengeance against the Jews and he made a decree demanding that they worship Jupiter and in his wrath he turned once more against the Jews where he was indignant that meantime God's worship had been restored at Jerusalem the apostate Israelites helped him for he had intelligence with them that he forsook the Holy Covenant verse 30 in his rage both against Rome and against the Jews he sent an army of 22,000 men to destroy Jerusalem two years after its capture by himself and multitudes were slain the city was pillaged and all of the Jews were told to worship the heathen God Jupiter on pain of death if they refused to obey and identifying himself with that God with fanatical haughtiness he wished to make his own worship universal and he is a picture of the coming man of sin and no wonder Daniel wrote as he saw the vision the words of verses 31 and 32 and arms shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and take away the daily sacrifice they shall place the abomination that makes desolate and shall do wickedly against the covenant the apostate Jews he will corrupt by flatteries and we this is the time of the Maccabees and you remember reading probably in history of the Maccabees and they rose up against the powers and they did succeed for a while in driving out these people and yet their victories were short-lived and verses 32 and 33 but the people that know their God that was the Maccabees will be strong they'll do exploits and they that understand among the people shall instruct many yet they shall fall by the sword and by the flame and by captivity and by the spoil for many days and so it tragedy of their failure so as you get into then Antiochus Epiphanes the type of the Antichrist in the time of the end verse 35 brings to a close the dark picture of that vile person known in history as Antiochus Epiphanes and this horrible portrait is finished and the Holy Spirit leads us on in anticipation even to the time of the end verse 35 it seems as though he would have us to realize how definitely this terrible king of Syria foreshadowed the Antichrist who is to come whose picture is given in the remaining verses of the chapter and so from 35 to the end of the chapter are the descriptions it goes from Antiochus Epiphanes and now is describing this man of sin that is going to be coming and and ruling over the world known as the Antichrist and so as you go on in verse 36 and the king shall do according to his will and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God he'll speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished for that which is determined shall be done neither shall he regard the God of his father's or 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 father's knew not shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones and pleasant things and he shall do in the most strongholds with the strange God whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain and at that time of the end shall the king of the south push at him and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over he shall enter also into the glorious land and many countries shall be overthrown but these shall escape out of his hand even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Amman or that is the area of Jordan and he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries and the land of Egypt shall not escape and he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver and over all of the precious things of Egypt and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps but tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him and therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many and he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain and yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. So talking about the Antichrist and he's going to invade Africa and as he is invading Africa the tidings out of the east and out of the north trouble him for he hears that these tremendous forces from the east that would be China and India are coming against his rule and his power that he has and they will meet in battle there in the land of Israel in what is known the Valley of Megiddo and thus the Battle of Armageddon is what is being referred to here. So that brings us really right on up to yet future events we have looked at the history but it follows on through this man of sin yet to be revealed and I don't believe that we will see him I don't believe that the church will be here when he is revealed. In Thessalonians Paul said that that which hinders shall hinder until it is removed out of the way and then shall the man of sin be revealed the son of perdition who is going to go forth with all kinds of demonic powers. But I do believe that that will follow the rapture of the church I don't expect to see the Antichrist and thus I don't really make any speculation as to who might possibly be the Antichrist. I know that there have been others in the past that have made such speculation I know that I can remember when I was a boy that there were several ministers that were preaching sermons on Mussolini the Antichrist and of course those sermons all went into the trash can along with Mussolini as they realized that that was a mistake. So I don't think that we're going to know who he is I'm not interested in who he is it doesn't matter to me I just know that he's going to come on the scene and he's going to accomplish these things and do these things that are spoken of here. He's going to be a very blasphemous person blaspheming God and speaking out against the Lord and against God's people and so it's a horrible horrible person. Getting into chapter 12 and at that time shall Michael stand up the great prince which stands for the children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to the same time and that time thy people shall be delivered everyone that shall be found written in the book. So the time of the future yet coming when there's going to be this great tribulation period and as far as the Jews are concerned it's going to be a time of great trouble greater than anything that has ever happened before. Now you look at the history of Israel and you realize there have been some horrible massacres and horrible events that have happened to these people and to this nation but yet what is happening or will happen in the future will exceed anything that has yet happened in the past. Many of them shall sleep in the dust of the earth they shall awake some to everlasting life some to shame and everlasting contempt and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. So he's speaking about the resurrection many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life some to everlasting shame and contempt. Now as you read this here it would sound that this happens at the same time but we know that there's a thousand years between the two resurrections the resurrection of the righteous who will live and reign with Christ and the resurrection of the unrighteous which will take place a thousand years later and so the two resurrections and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. In a few weeks now we'll have the 4th of July coming up and it's a wonderful time to get out in the evening and to watch the firework displays. From the balcony at our house we can count five different places where they are shooting off fireworks and so we can just sit there and watch the fireworks from Disneyland on down to the Newport and there's two different ones at Newport and there at the dunes and then across the bay on the other side and and then we can see some of the fireworks from Huntington Beach and it's just a pleasant evening. I enjoy watching these fireworks I enjoy the various types of fireworks and and displays and and some of them are quite spectacular and and I like those that sort of just you know explode and then there's the little sub explosions and they just seem to keep going for a little while and as I'm sitting there I and with Kay we go ooh look at that whoa you know and and it's it's interesting to watch they're beautiful I have to admit that but you know they're all over of course that the last they you know whatever's left they just seem to set it off and so you have that final magnificent display but then it's dark and and the the sky has been lit up it's just you know and you can see everything around you because they light up the sky so much but now it's over and it's just dark and I stay there on the balcony and I keep looking up because now I see the stars for a long time I didn't see those stars because of the brightness of the fireworks that are going on so close to us I couldn't see the stars but now once again those stars up there shining and so it's an interesting picture to me there are a lot of people that are like these skyrockets that I watch on the 4th of July they come with a big flash and and people observing say ooh ah ooh you see oh my you know and and you do the oohs and the ahs over them but then they're soon ashes they burn out so quickly and you sort of forget them because they're nothing but ashes and then the stars they're still there they're still shining and so they may not make such a big splash or you know they don't maybe draw your attention as much as a skyrocket does but yet going on shining there the brightness of the firmament and so which sky do you want to shine in I guess is the good question are you trying to shine in this worldly sky around us are you trying to get the attention of man and the worship and the applause and all of man or are you seeking to shine in his sky those that are wise shine is the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever and so I would like to shine as the stars forever than ever and you know not burned into ashes have your big flash and have it all over but just shining as the stars forever and ever but the Lord said to Daniel thou Daniel shut up the words seal the book even to the time of the end for many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased then I Daniel look and behold there stood other two one on this side of the bank of the river and the other on the on that side of the bank of the river and one said to the man clothed in linen which was upon the waters of the river how long shall it be to the end of these wonders and I heard the man clothed in linen which was on the waters of the river and he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven and he swore by him that lives forever and ever that it shall be for a time times and a half and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people and all of those things shall be finished so three and a half years time times and a half three and a half years and I heard but I understood not and then I said oh my lord what shall be the end of these things and he said go your way Daniel for the words are closed up and they are sealed till the time of the end for many shall be purified and made white and tried but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand but he that is wise shall understand and from the time that the daily sacrifices shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days blessed is he that waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty five days but go thou thy way until the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in your lot at the end of the days so here's Daniel he sees the the future and he's now curious Lord timing when is this going to be now notice the Lord said to Daniel you know just seal it up Daniel it's not going to happen in your lifetime this is something that is yet future and so it's for the time of the end and interestingly enough as he speaks of the time of the end he speaks about many shall run to and fro knowledge shall be increased Sir Isaac Watts was a Christian and predicated upon this scripture in Daniel he made a prediction that one day men would be traveling more than 25 miles per hour because if men are going to be you know traveling to and fro there at the end that he figured you'd have to travel at least 25 miles an hour to get anywhere and of course Voltaire that famous French atheist said look at what doctoring fools the Bible makes out of otherwise intelligent men for Isaac Watts is now declaring that men will be traveling more than 25 miles an hour in the future and he said any fool knows that if you traveled faster than that it would kill you so of course it turns out that Isaac Watts was right and Voltaire the atheist was wrong and not just that but in many different instances the one proved to be right and the other wrong but it is interesting as Daniel sort of closes this up he talks about the question in his mind is when is it going to happen now the interesting thing is that in many of the prophecies especially in Daniel as you deal with timing issues the Lord gives you a sort of a timing start in other words he gives you a incident that's going to take place and this will mark the beginning of time in other words you start marking from this and you'll come to the time that the Lord is talking about and with this from the time that they have the abomination that causes the desolation that is from the time that the Antichrist sets the image of himself in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem to the coming again of Jesus Christ will be 1290 days if you happen to be here at that time when this takes place and I trust and pray to God that you won't be because it's going to be a time of great tribulation such as the world has never seen before and unless those days be shortened no one would even survive but if you happen to be here and you had a calendar you can start marking the calendar and know that in 1290 days it'll all be over and the Lord will come and establish his kingdom here on earth and so blessed is he who waits to the 1235 days what's the difference between the 1290 and 1235 the 45-day difference as I see it is probably the time that it will take in order for the Lord to establish his kingdom in order to remove from the earth those that will not be allowed to go into his kingdom because we realize that he's going to gather the people together as a shepherd gathers the his sheep before him and he separates the goats from the sheep and you know so it will be a time in which the Lord will determine which people who survived the great tribulation who lived into this coming period of Christ's coming who did not take the mark of the beast who did not worship his image that it would be determined which of those will be allowed to go into the kingdom age and which will be shut out from the kingdom age but if you are a child of God and you're taken up in the rapture you're already in so there will be no concern or no worry on your part of being able to make it but if you're thinking well you know I'll just wait and see and you know if this all happens like the preacher said it's going to happen then when it does happen when the church is caught out then I'll get serious with the Lord and I'll you know make my commitment then and if I can just survive through that great tribulation period hopefully when we get to the end he'll choose me to be one who is able to enter into the kingdom but you better read Revelation 6 to 19 and you'll realize that there will be just very few people that will make it through that period of time that the tribulation of those days is going to be so severe that the majority of the world's population will be destroyed during that time in the great wrath of God that will be poured out upon the earth and your chances of survival during that time will be very slim indeed rather than chancing it I would much rather be sure of it and the glorious thing is you can be sure and that's what the Bible assures us of that if we will put our faith in Jesus Christ that we'll be accounted worthy to escape the judgments of God that are coming upon the earth and to be standing before the Son of Man being there with him in heaven when all hell is breaking forth on the earth you'll be there with him in heaven enjoying the presence of the Lord and of his people his church and what a great time of rejoicing that will be for us as the world is going through the convulsions of the great tribulation period so I've always said you know why not just make it easy on yourself why not just accept Christ now and serve him now and be assured of your position with him now rather than chancing some chancy thing for the future well when it's convenient I'll surrender to Christ or when I can see this or that then I'll surrender it doesn't make sense you know what have you had a horrible horrible toothache so bad that you couldn't sleep at night it was just throbbing constantly throbbing and you say well I'm thinking about going to the dentist someday and have him take a look at that and and yet on the other hand it's so bad you're hurting it's paining you can't sleep at night because of it but you're just enduring it and yet it's so painful and so difficult and you you tell your friend oh I can't I don't know how long I can just take this it is so horrible I just can't handle it and they say well why don't you go to the dentist and and and you know let him give you a whatever is necessary maybe a root canal and get rid of that and all well I've been thinking about that but I don't know I just sort of scared of dentists and so forth and you just don't do anything about it it doesn't make sense and to think well I'll just put it off until sometime later it doesn't make sense the Bible says behold today is the day of salvation call upon the Lord while he is near and it's time now to get right with God not to wait until some other future date but the time is now to get right with God and I would encourage you this evening now is the time make your commitment to Jesus Christ great insurance you don't have to worry about the future it's all taken care of once you submit your life to him father thank you for your goodness to us thank you for your promises thank you for the forgiveness that you provide when we but just call upon you and so Lord tonight we do pray that you will work in the hearts and the lives of the people that are gathered here we realize Lord that as with all situations there are those who are ready those who are following you those who are serving you and those who are just waiting in eager anticipation for your coming again and then there are others Lord who are not ready who are just going on still in a sinful life and Lord we pray that tonight will be the night that there will be those changes in their lives where they will be drawn to you where they will receive the forgiveness of their sins and the hope for eternal life in your kingdom so Lord we just ask now work in each of our hearts and in each of our lives draw us Lord close to yourself in Jesus name we pray amen