This upcoming week president-elect Biden will take the oath of office and become President Biden. And barring something unforeseen, and we should pray for the peace of our nation, this will set in place a leader who has promised to promote abortion domestically and internationally (in repealing the Hyde Amendment). He is one who has said he will put forward an agenda that prioritizes sexual license, transgenderism, and a host of other unbiblical policies. Coupled with the recent violence at the capitol that has been labeled deceptively as a “Christian insurrection,” we are looking at some interesting (read: challenging) days ahead.

That being said, Scripture teaches us that everything that happens on earth is the outworking of God’s eternal decree written down in heaven. Without denying the place of prayer or moral responsibility and political action, God is the one who raises up and tears down governments and governors. And nowhere is this more evident than in Daniel 11, the passage we will consider on Sunday.

In what is Daniel's most prolix chapter—and yes, it needs an esoteric word to describe it—Daniel 11 has baffled Christians for generations. Yet, when read with the intricate history of the Ptolemic and Seleucid Empires, it becomes apparent that what Daniel is seeing in this vision is the outworking of political history from Cyrus to Christ and beyond. God is never surprised by national upheaval, because he has ordained it and more, he is accomplishing his purposes by it.

On Sunday, we will pray for our nation and we will remind ourselves of the holy nation that will never perish, spoil, or fade. 1 Peter 2 tells us that we are royal priesthood and a holy nation. And as people who have been raised to life with Christ, we can trust in his resurrection, which gives us boldness to live today. These are themes found in Daniel 11–12 and fulfilled in Christ. And on Sunday, we will set our minds upon them, to strengthen our hope of heaven and embolden our lives on the earth.

Please take time to read Daniel 11–12:4, especially verses 32–35 and 12:1–3. Even more, pray for God to shine his light upon us, such that we would have wisdom to walk with Christ in these days. God is faithful and he will do it. May we set out eyes on him.

I hope to see you Sunday, as the Lord wills and as we desire to gather.

For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor David

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Discussion & Response Questions for Daniel 11:2-12:4
1. What makes Daniel 11:2–12:4 so hard to understand? How have you understood it in the past? Or not understood it?
2. What differences does knowing the history between Jesus and Daniel make? How can you learn that history? (Hint: read 1–2 Maccabees or a good commentary)
3. Often breaking big narratives into smaller sections helps digest them. What are the smaller sections of this passage? What are the basic historical features of each section?
4. While there is general agreement that Daniel 11:1–35 are historical, there is a great difference of opinion about verses 36–45. What are the two basic ways Christians have read it?
5. Whatever your view is, can you explain how others understand the passage? And why they do?
6. What clues in the text do we have to rightly understand the context and content of this passage? How do things like the structure of Daniel (esp. Daniel 7–12), Hebrew parallelism, and typology help us?
7. How does Daniel 12:1–4 relate to Daniel 11? How is this passage fulfilled in Christ? What is fulfilled, what is remaining?
8. In 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, we learn that there is one resurrection harvest, not one for Christ and not one for his people. What does that mean? How does that encourage you?
9. What is the main point of Daniel 11–12:4? How might speculation about the end times miss the main point of Daniel? How does keeping the main point in view help you understand the passage?
10. What do you learn about God in this passage? And how does it encourage your faith in these tumultuous days?
11. Is there anything in particular that this passage has to say which relates to the woes of our national government?