Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK 82
THE LAST MESSAGE TO DANIEL – 1
Daniel 11:32 – 12:13
Okay, it is good to see everybody in today. Another opportunity to share the Word. And we trust that as we teach, you’re praying and asking that the Spirit will direct us. For those of you out in television, again, we want to welcome you to an informal Bible study. And that’s all we want it to be, is a Bible study, so that you can learn to study and read and enjoy the Bible on your own. And from our letters and phone calls, I think we’re succeeding to a certain degree.
All right, we’re going to pick right up where we left off in our last program, which was last taping. For many of you, that’s a few weeks ago. We’re going to drop in where we left off in Daniel chapter 11 verse 32. Let’s finish the chapter rather quickly, because from here to the end of the chapter is an Old Testament preview of the coming Tribulation.
And, of course, I think if we have time, if not this afternoon, then in the next four programs, I’m going to make a point of the fact that there’s probably no other subject that is so thoroughly dealt with in Scripture as those final seven years of the Tribulation. A lot of it is so horrible that the scoffers, of course, just think that it’s a bunch of funnies. But, really, it is a coming time. And as we see the world’s whole scenario, the stage is being set for these final seven years.
All right, now here we pick them up prophetically, even as we come into a prophetic picture of the anti-Christ in verse 36. But let’s just finish the chapter. Because if I don’t, you know what will happen? They write and say, why didn’t you cover verse 32 to the end of the chapter? I did that with Galatians. I’ll never do that again. But when I skipped the last chapter, I didn’t think that it was that important and I went on into Ephesians. And I’ve had hundreds of letters…why did you skip those verses? So I don’t dare. All right, verse 32:
Daniel 11:32-33a
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: (in other words, smooth talk) but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: (Boy, that’s always the case, you know. If you know something, you can share it with somebody.) they shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword,…” Now, this is all typical of the Tribulation. That as soon as someone professes their faith, they’ll be martyred. They won’t last very long at all. All right, then you go on:
Daniel 11:33b-35
“…they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try (or test) them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.”
Now, that reminds of a verse back in Jeremiah. I was going to use it anyway a little later on in the afternoon, but it won’t hurt to use it twice. So, go back with me to Jeremiah chapter 30 and we’ll see the same kind of language. Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 6, and I think I’ve got another one that I want to look at in Zechariah chapter 13. Hang on just a second. Yeah. All right, just look at these two portions, again prophesying the horrors of those final seven years, especially the second half of them and especially for the people of Israel.
Jeremiah 30:6-7
“Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, (or childbirth labor) and all faces are turned into paleness? 7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble (or Israel), but he shall be saved out of it.”
Now, if you’ll jump ahead to Zechariah 13, you have much the same kind of language, only now it’s even more specific. Zechariah chapter 13 and we’ll jump in at verse 8.
Zechariah 13:8a
“And it shall come to pass,…” Most of you know that we’ve been traveling for the last two weeks. We’ve been speaking to a lot of people. And I’m emphasizing over and over, when this Book says thus saith the LORD, or it shall come to pass, what can we depend on? It’s going to happen! It’s going to happen, even though these prophecies were written back in 400-500 B.C. We’ve now come 2,000 years on this side, and it’s still in the future. We’re closer now, of course, than they were then, but it is going to happen.
Zechariah 13:8
“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, (That is the land of Israel.) saith the LORD, two parts (or two thirds) therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.” And I feel that that’s the escaping remnant of Matthew 24:15.
Zechariah 13:8b-9
“…but the third shall be left therein. 9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, (That is the testings of those last three-and-a-half years.) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (or test) them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, (When it’s all over.) and I will hear them: and I will say, It is my people: and they (Israel, this one third of surviving, or what I call the escaping, remnant.) shall say, the LORD is my God.”
Now, you see, that hasn’t happened for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years that God could call the Jewish people my people and they in turn would claim Him as their God.
All right, back to Daniel chapter 11. Those were portions I didn’t intend to use, so I’m already five minutes behind if I was on a schedule. But you know, thank the Lord I’m not on a schedule. All right, so here we have it, verse 35:
Daniel 11:35
“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, (That is through the fires of the Tribulational testing.) even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.”
Now when God sets a time schedule, is He ever a day late? Is He a minute late? And you know the verse I love to use most of all when it comes to God’s timeliness in fulfilling this prophetic plan is—jump all the way up to Galatians. I just love this little portion of Scripture to see that God is so exact in His scheduling. He’s not off a minute in any of the things that have unfolded for the last 6,000 years. All right, but here in Galatians chapter 4, we’re talking about something totally different. We’re talking about Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. Galatians chapter 4 verse 4, and I hope you love it as much as I do.
Galatians 4:4a
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman…” So, what does that tell you? The very conception of Christ in Mary was timed in such a way that on the exact day that God had appointed from eternity past, He was born. That’s how exact God is in everything He does.
And the same way back here in Daniel, flip back with me. This Tribulation thing is not going to come by accident. It’s not going to be a day late or a day early. It’s exactly on God’s timetable. It’s all been foretold for thousands of years, and now we’re looking it in the face. The whole world is getting ready for it, whether they know it or not. We’ll be looking at that more and more this afternoon.
All right, let’s move on into verse 36, where now we jump into almost explicit language describing the man anti-Christ, who, we feel, is alive. He’s someplace in the world. He’s in some government. And one of these days it will be a little more evident, although I feel we’ll never know for sure who he is. We may speculate all we want. There have been books written of all the various men that they have been prognosticating as being the anti-Christ. Nobody knows. Nobody will know that are believers, because I’m a firm believer that we will be taken out before the anti-Christ makes his appearance. And I pick that up from II Thessalonians. All right, but now in Daniel 11 verse 36:
Daniel 11:36a
“And the king (this coming world ruler) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, (Now, he’s going to be quite the character, believe me.) and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, (in other words, the God of Creation) and shall prosper (He’s going to get away with it.) till the indignation (or those final seven years) be accomplished:…”
Now, just for the sake of showing and proving, again, the miraculousness of Scripture, turn with me up to II Thessalonians. Because the main thrust of my teaching is I want people to see that this Book isn’t just thrown together by campfire stories. This is all put together by the intrinsic wisdom of the Creator God Himself. So turn with me to II Thessalonians chapter 2. And even though the Apostle Paul rarely speaks of prophecy, in fact, if I’m not mistaken, these are the only verses where he alludes to prophecy. And I think that the main reason is to show us that even this Apostle is so led of the Holy Spirit that he can fit the things together coming out of the Book of Daniel.
All right, now remember what he just said about the anti-Christ back in Daniel—he’ll magnify himself, and he’ll speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and so forth. Now look at II Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 4. Almost the identical description.
II Thessalonians 2:3c-4a
“…the son of perdition; (up there in verse 3) 4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,…” Do you see that? He puts himself above all that is called God. Now for those of you who are history buffs, what did almost all the ancient emperors end up thinking of themselves? That they were god. Most of the Caesars, and you go back to Nebuchadnezzar and all the other oriental kings, they all got to the place that they felt they were God.
Even King Herod, but, boy, he bit the dust, didn’t he. As soon as King Herod accepted the worship of his subjects, almost immediately, remember, God put him down. And if I’m not mistaken, either worms chewed him up or dogs or something, but it was a horrible death. But see, we can’t get away from the fact that when they get that kind of power, they get the puffed up idea that they’re above humanity. They’re now gods. Well, this guy is going to do it supremely like no one has ever done it before, and he’s going to show himself that he is God.
All right, now let’s come back to Daniel, once again. We’ll just move on through the chapter. Now these are all just graphic descriptions of this world ruler that probably is somewhere in the world today. He doesn’t know that he is the anti-Christ, only God does. But nevertheless, he’s being groomed. And one day at the right time he will come forward after the church is gone. All right, verse 37—since he set himself up as God, naturally he shall neither–
Daniel 11:37b
“…regard the God of his fathers,…” Now I’ve got to stop right there, don’t I? We normally think that someone like this would have to be a Jew, because he is putting himself above the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Well, I’m not saying that can’t be. But, you see, he could also be an apostate of Christianity. He could still be putting himself above the God that he has worshipped in the Christian faith. Or, he could be an apostate of Islam, as far as that goes. He could even do that, put himself above Allah, or of the other things. Just remember that this guy is going to be so uniquely different and so uniquely puffed up and arrogant that he’ll have no compunction about elevating himself to such a position, regardless of whether he’s a Jew, whether he’s Christian, or he’s Islam. I don’t think it makes any difference whatever place he comes from.
I’d better qualify that. I still think they’re going to come out of Western Europe because of Daniel chapter 9. But, you see, you’ve got all three of those elements in the European Governments. You’ve certainly got enough Jewish people that are in a high place of government. You have quote/unquote apostate Christians. And you also have tons of Muslims in Europe today. Europe is almost turned Muslim already. So, there’s no problem with any of those three backgrounds coming out of the Ten Nations of Western Europe. I had to clarify that. Now let’s go on into verse 38.
Daniel 11:38
“But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stone, and pleasant things.” And so on and so forth, and again, I think there’s one of the Scriptures that we’re going to see sometime before the afternoon is over. He is going to honor a god of nature that evidently has some tremendous power. Well, what power is lying in warehouses all around the world and that will be triggered in the closing days of the Tribulation? All of our “nukes.”
Nuclear power is something, of course, that no one ever dreamed of until we got the atomic bomb back at the end of World War II. But I said it in the last taping, and I’ll say it again, because I’ve had statements from scientists proving that I’m right. These hydrogen bombs that are standing in warehouses—they’ve never seen one openly exploded. Not like the old atom bomb that they dropped from a steel tower. They actually witnessed that. As far as I know, no one has ever witnessed an open explosion of a hydrogen bomb. So, even our scientific community really doesn’t know the power that those things are going to exercise once they’re released. But this guy, I think, is going to almost cherish the day when he can give the command to start.
And I’ve said it for thirty-some years that I do not believe that a hydrogen bomb will be exploded until we get to these last days of the Tribulation. I just cannot see it happening, for the simple reason that if anybody, even this guy down in Iran, if he would try to drop a nuke on Jerusalem, somebody would retaliate immediately and it would just be the end of everything. Well, God’s not going to let that happen, it’s not going to end until He is ready to end it. So I think we can rest on that premise that these nukes will not be used until we get to that last part of these seven years.
All right, so continue on, we are describing the man anti-Christ as he finally makes his appearance. And verse 38 again:
Daniel 11:38-39
“But in his estate he shall honor the God of forces: (Maybe that was the word I had in mind. He will think the world of all of this nuclear power that now sits at his fingertips.) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a 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.”
Now again, I may be as wrong as daylight from dark, but I think what we dealing with here are the satanic and demonic powers. He’s going to draw on demon power, and Satan, of course, will be indwelling him in the last half. This is what I have to feel we’re looking at here—that he’s going to be toying and exercising the demonic powers. All right, verse 40:
Daniel 11:40a
“And at the 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,…” Well, you see, some feel that the king of the north and the king of the south were two different empires, but they cannot be. Because the anti-Christ is the king of the north, and who the king of the south will be—at this time I’m in no position to guess, and I can’t find anybody else that does either. So, we’ll just let that one slide. But now you come to the last half of the verse.
Daniel 11:40b
“…with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.” Now just to mention the ships, of course, indicates the use of naval power. And that is, of course, today like never before in history. All right, verse 41, now it becomes obvious.
Daniel 11:41a
“He shall enter also into the glorious land,…” Well, now there’s only one piece of real estate in the world that is glorious in God’s eyes. And what is it? The little land of Israel. So, he’s definitely going to make his appearance in Israel. And I think that he will make his headquarters in the defiled Temple up there on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Daniel 11:41
“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 Ammon.” Now those are Arab nations and, again, to what extent he’s going to leave them alone—I’m in no position to comment. Now verse 42:
Daniel 11:42-43
“He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. (Egypt is going to come under his wrath, as well.) 43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.” So, he’s going to have total control of North Africa, and they’re going to be under his thumb. Now verse 44:
Daniel 11:44–45a
“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. (So, these are conflicts that he’s going to have to put down in order to maintain his power. But, of course, he’s going to be successful in doing so.) 45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas (Between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea; which, of course, is Jerusalem.) he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain;…”
Which, I feel, is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on which you have the Golden Dome, the Mosque of Omar, whatever you want to call it. And where I also feel, as I think we’ve mentioned before, will be the seven-year peace treaty that the anti-Christ will sign between Israel and the Arab world that will permit Israel to build a Temple of sorts up there on the Temple Mount.
I think I explained it the last time we were here, that there is that large, almost 200 feet if not mistaken, 200 feet by 200 feet square—nothing but pavement as smooth as this floor right north of the Golden Dome and also straight west of the Eastern Gate. That’s where I personally feel that this rebuilt Temple that the Jews will be permitted to build in the early days of the Tribulation will then become his capital. I think he’s just going to do everything he can to besmirch the things of God. I may be wrong, but that’s the way I’m looking at it. So, he’ll make Jerusalem his capital, and all the things pertaining to his power will be exercised.
Now, we’ve got a few minutes left. Let’s go back to the Book of Revelation, which, of course, is the parallel Book of Daniel. The two fit hand-in-glove. We’ll come back to chapter 13 of Revelation to pick up how the world will fall at his feet. Now, I think we’re all aware that we’re seeing an example of that even in our own country today. How we have a man who has suddenly captured the astonishment of the world. I read some time ago that they’re actually raising statues of him in cities all around the world. Well, it’s just an indication of how people can suddenly be attracted to one individual. Chapter 13 of Revelation, we’ll use this to finish up these last three minutes. John, the writer of Revelation, is speaking in symbolism much as Daniel does.
Revelation 13:1-2
“And as I stood upon the sand of the sea, (That is the sea of humanity.) and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and, ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Now that, of course, I think, indicates his empire, his Revived Roman Empire. And it’ll be as Daniel saw it in chapter 2.) 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon (Satan) gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”
That’s what I mentioned just a few moments ago. This man is going to derive his power from Satan himself. In fact, I think Satan will do like he did with Judas. I think he’s going to indwell the man anti-Christ, whoever he is. Then I’m going to come all the way down to verse 5, lest I run out of time.
Revelation 13:5
“And there was given unto him (this coming world ruler) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue (or to keep on going) forty and two months.”
Now, you know we’ve stressed it over the last several programs that these final seven years are always divided into two halves: three-and-a-half years and three-and-a-half years; twelve hundred and sixty days and twelve hundred and sixty days; forty-two months and forty-two months. Those are all the terms of Scripture. Now, here we have the same thing. That after he has defiled the Temple of Jerusalem and he’s turned against the Nation of Israel, he now has forty-two months where he can draw on the satanic power.
Now, I don’t have time enough left here. But in Revelation chapter 12 we have another parallel package where Satan is cast out of Heaven at the very mid-point. When this anti-Christ goes in and defiles the Temple on Earth, Satan is getting kicked out of Heaven. All right, now it says as clearly as can be put, that when he is kicked out of Heaven and he’s brought down to earth, he immediately hooks up with the man anti-Christ. And I feel, like I said, that Satan will indwell him. All right, by indwelling the man anti-Christ, it will give him tremendous power. Now verse 6 of Revelation 13:
Revelation 13:6-7
“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (In other words, if it’s the one that’s on the Temple Mount, as I think, he’s going to defile it and curse it and blaspheme it.) and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7. And it was given unto him (In other words, God in His Sovereignty permits it, but Satan is going to empower him to do it.) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, (That is anyone that professes salvation.) and to overcome them: (He’ll put them to death.) and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Now, when Scripture brings these things down to tongues, that means that every dialect throughout China, every dialect throughout India, or any other nation you can think of, are all going to come under his total control. So, it says that those that are in the Lamb’s Book of Life will not lose their life.