Read Daniel 11:5-14. What is unfolding here?

Upon the death of Alexander the Great, the vast Greek empire was divided among his four generals. Two of them — Seleucus in Syria (North) and Ptolemy in Egypt (South) — managed to establish dynasties that would fight each other for control of the land.

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Most Bible students understand the wars between the king of the North and the king of the South prophesied in Daniel 11:5-14 as referring to the many battles involving these two dynasties. According to the prophecy, an attempt would be made to unite these two dynasties by marriage, but that alliance would be short lived (Dan. 11:6). Historical sources inform us that Antiochus II Theos (261-246 B.C.) grandson of Seleucus I, married Berenice, a daughter of the Egyptian king, Ptolemy II Philadelphus. However, that agreement did not last, and the conflict that directly involved the people of God soon resumed. Thus, Daniel 11 deals with some important events that will touch the lives of God’s people during the centuries after the prophet Daniel passes from the scene.

Again, we can ask the question of why the Lord reveals ahead of time all these details about wars involving kingdoms fighting each other for supremacy in that part of the world. The reason is simple: these wars affect God’s people. So the Lord announces beforehand the many challenges His people will face in the years to come. Also, God is the Lord of history, and as we compare the prophetic record with the historical events, we can again see that the prophetic word is fulfilled as predicted. The God who predicts the vicissitudes of those Hellenistic kingdoms fighting each other is the God who knows the future. He is worthy of our trust and faith. This is a big God, not an idol manufactured by human imagination. He not only directs the course of historical events, but He can also direct our lives if we allow Him to do so.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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The hymn used as the theme for this quarter is from “The Church Hymnal, Official Hymnal of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church” which was surpassed by the “Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal” in 1985.In the ‘old’ hymnal, Number 497 – Standing by a Purpose True, that is, ”Dare to be a Daniel” will be the favourite. I do hope you are able to source this hymn and use it frequently during this quarters Sabbath School study time.

The people longed to go home to their Beautiful Land. I am sure they would have said
Lo, What a Glorious Sight Appears, Hymn 446.

Once again, we have Daniel as the prophet telling us of what is to unfold for our future –
Hymn 413, God Has Spoken by His Prophets. God unveils the plans through Daniel –
Hymn 275, O God of Light.

We are reminded that we have the God who knows the future (Monday) so we can then say
Be Still, My Soul, Hymn 461.

The Glorious Land comes to us again on Tuesday –
Jerusalem the Golden, Hymn 429 and
Hymn 420, Jerusalem, My Happy Home.

The Final Events of Thursday will tell us to
Look for the Waymarks, Hymn 596.

God’s blessings as you enjoy your “Singing with Inspiration” this quarter.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Key Thought: Daniel 11 shows the nature of the repeat and enlarge prophecies of Daniel 2,7, and 8. This focuses on Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and ensuing kingdoms of the north and south..
March 21, 2020

1. Have a volunteer read Daniel 11:5-14.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Who are the kings of the north and south mentioned in these passages?
   (Note: Syria in the north under Seleucus and Egypt in the south under Ptolemy are mentioned here. The Syrian king sent his daughter Bernice to marry Ptolemy to keep the two from fighting, but it didn’t work.)
3. Personal Application: How can we be sensitive to other people’s feelings, yet not compromise on the role of Rome in the last days? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why did God reveal wars between kingdoms like Syria and Egypt? How would you respond to your relative?
   (Note: These wars affected Israel and impacted the assault and capture at times of God’s people. Most nations are not mentioned until and unless they come in contact with God’s people)

2. Have a volunteer read Daniel 11:16-22.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How do we know that Rome is taken the place of Syria as the king of the north here?
   Note: In 63BC Rome conquered both Syria and the pleasant land – Palestine.)
3. Personal Application: How can God’s foreknowledge strengthen your personal faith? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “This all seems like speculation to me. How can you pinpoint anything in these verses that can verify any people or events? How would you respond to your friend?
   (Note: In verse 20 – the raiser of taxes would be Augustus Caesar – see Luke 2:1. In verse 17-19 describes the king before Augustus – Julius Caesar who married Cleopatra and conquered the Bosphorous Isles, came home and was killed by Brutus and his own Senate. After Augustus we see Tiberius Caesar who was ruling during the time of Jesus – see verse 22 – the prince of the covenant. Tiberius was proclaimed by Augustus to be too “vile” to wear the purple of Rome. See Luke 3:1, 21,22)

3. Have a volunteer read Daniel 11:29-39.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What gives us a clue that verse 29 thru 35 are speaking of the Papacy?
   (Note: He does away with the daily corresponding to Daniel 7 and 8 concerning Papal Rome. Rome killed the Protestants and others during the Dark ages between 50 to 150 million. Rome rule until 1798 when Berthier marched into Rome and took the Pope captive. This date is called the time of the end.)
3. Personal Application: How do we deal with presenting the Roman Church as the antichrist and cause of many souls being lost instead of saved as a viable option in today’s society where any talk of negativity toward another church or faith is treated as unacceptable? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Why do people say that the Roman Church didn’t regard any God and honored the God of forces and how did Papal Rome divide the land for gain in the time of the end?” How would you respond to your neighbor?
   Note: After Rome’s 1260 years, France rose up in the French Revolution – abolished the Bible, raised up the Goddess of Reason, and divided the land into small parcels…This was the time of the end – 1798. This was the understanding of Uriah Smith. Most Adventist scholars today reject this idea. They say this refers to Papal Rome still, although Rome was not rising up in 1798 – it was being destroyed. Those who say this is still the Papacy show that Rome doesn’t allow priests to marry, magnifies himself as God, and is a rich church with gold, silver, and precious stones. So there are two threads that divert from each other.

4. Have a volunteer read Daniel 11:40-45.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. The time of the end was 1798. The French Revolution. Was there a power that came as a whirlwind across France, Syria, and Egypt but did not enter the lands of Edom, Moab, and Ammon areas?
   Note: Turkey and their whirling dervishes conquered like madmen and placed the Dome of the Rock – A Muslim Temple – in Jerusalem where it stands today. Adam Clark predicted that if Turkey was the king of the north in these verses, that there would be a war between Turkey, France, and Russia in the future. He wrote that in the early 1800’s. In 1856 The Crimean War took place between Russia, Turkey, and France. Others expound that this refers to Papal Rome and its placing replacing the Spiritual aspects of the gospel and replacing them by placing his temple up instead of God’s heavenly temple. Two different understandings of these verses. , but both have their positive applications.
3. Personal Application: We were told that Jesus could have come in 1888, but His people weren’t ready. We were also told that the prophecies of Daniel 11 have almost reached their complete fulfillment in the late 1800’s. What makes you think we are more ready now than then? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Read Daniel 11:1-4. What do we see here that reminds us of some of the previous prophecies we have seen in Daniel?

Gabriel tells Daniel that three kings will still rise from Persia. They will be followed by the fourth king, who will be the richest one of all and will provoke the Greeks. After Cyrus, three successive kings exert dominion over Persia: Cambyses (530-522 B.C.),

Cyrus and Daniel Image © Review and Herald Publishing collection at GoodSalt.com

the False Smerdis (522 B.C.), and Darius I (522-486 B.C.). The fourth king is Xerxes, mentioned in the book of Esther as Ahasuerus. He is very wealthy (Esther 1:1-7) and marshals a vast army to invade Greece, as predicted in the prophecy. But, in spite of his power, he is repelled by a smaller force of valiant Greek soldiers.

It is not difficult to recognize Alexander the Great as the mighty king who arises in Daniel 11:3, and who becomes the absolute ruler of the ancient world. At the age of 32, he died without leaving an heir to rule the empire. So the kingdom was divided among his four generals: Seleucus over Syria and Mesopotamia, Ptolemy over Egypt, Lysimachus over Thrace and portions of Asia Minor, and Cassander over Macedonia and Greece.

Compare Daniel 11:2-4 with Daniel 8:3-8, Dan. 8:20-22. How do these texts together help identify Alexander as the power here?

What can we learn from this assortment of names, dates, places, and historical events? First, we learn that the prophecy is fulfilled as predicted by the divine messenger. God’s Word never fails. Second, God is the Lord of history. We may get the impression that the succession of political powers, leaders, and kingdoms is propelled by the ambition of emperors, dictators, and politicians of all stripes. However, the Bible reveals that God is in ultimate control and will move the wheel of history according to His divine purpose, which ultimately will lead to the eradication of evil and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Dan. 11:1-45; Dan. 8:3-8, Dan. 8:20-22; Isa. 46:9-10; Dan. 8:9, Dan. 8:23; Matt. 27:33-50.

Memory Text: “And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time” (Daniel 11:35, NKJV).

As we begin this challenging chapter, a few points should be made at the outset. First, Daniel chapter 11 stands in parallel overall with the previous prophetic outlines in Daniel. As in chapters 2, 7, 8, and 9, the prophetic message extends from the days of the prophet until the end of time. Second, a succession of world powers emerges, powers that often oppress God’s people. Third, each prophetic outline climaxes with a happy ending. In Daniel 2, the stone obliterates the statue; in Daniel 7, the Son of Man receives the kingdom; and in Daniel 8 and 9, the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed through the work of the Messiah.

Chapter 11 follows three basic points. First, it begins with the Persian kings and discusses their fates and the time of the end, when the king of the north attacks the holy mountain of God. Second, a succession of battles between the king of the north and that of the south and how they affect God’s people is described. Third, it concludes with a happy ending as the king of the North faces his demise by the “glorious holy mountain” (Dan. 11:45). Such a positive conclusion signals the end of evil and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 21.

Sunday–>

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