The End of Evil Powers

Apr 9

This is the manuscript of the Daniel 11 sermon I preached on March 22, 2026 at Trinity West Seattle as part of our Thriving in Babylon sermon series through the book of Daniel.

You can watch it here or read the manuscript I preached from below.

SERMON INTRO

This year you have heard us talk a lot about living a way of life with God through prayer and scripture. That is Trinity’s theme or focus for the year. Our Formative Families event last week was focused on implementing prayer and scripture in the home. In Kid’s and Youth ministries we are doing a catechism that is rooted in scripture. Our Leader Equip Intensive this year was baked in prayer and scripture. We have reorganized our service a bit to add times of prayer on Sundays.

I bring all this up because prayer and scripture are crucial to our relationship with God and our way of life with Him…and I am up here about to open God's word with you today. But I want to acknowledge something. Sometimes, reading scripture or studying it can feel challenging or hard. Even today we are covering more apocalyptic literature in the books of Daniel. That is challenging stuff. But man…oh man…are there some amazing riches to be mined in our text today. And I am so excited about it.

However, I want to give you a helpful tool to put in your pocket when it comes to reading and studying scripture. This tool will help you process the section of scripture you are studying from a different angle. This tool is a simple question, “Why does this particular text exist, and what would we lose if it did not exist?”

For our text today, it is pretty clear why it exists. The whole book of Daniel the Israelites were in exile for idolatrous behavior. “You want idolatry? Well here you go.”

So God puts them in exile in an idolatrous nation to refine them, shape them, and to be a light in a dark place.

Daniel also reminds us that every kingdom, no matter its greatness or power, no matter how wonderful or terrible, every earthly empire will come to an end. The visions and dreams in the latter half of Daniel REALLY reveal that. But one kingdom will not, the kingdom of God. Jesus’ kingdom. Daniel also exists to show us how God is at work in the midst of all of that and draws near to His people while they are in exile.

So that is why the whole book, including Daniel 11 exists. To reveal all those things to the Israelites, and to us. Daniel 11 very thoroughly goes through about 400 years of history dealing with exile and preparing for the kingdom that is coming, God’s kingdom. It covers many of the same things other chapters cover (2,7,8), but in different ways and in a different (obviously), and final vision.

Which leads us to the other part of my question, what would we lose out on if Daniel 11 did not exist?

We would still get the themes of nations rising and falling, God refining his people, in the rest of the book. So what does Daniel 11 specifically have to offer to us that the others do not?

God is sovereign over all things, and He is at work in our midst bringing evil to its appointed end.

Daniell 11 shows us, without any doubt, that God is appointing the end of kingdoms and the end of evil. He is absolutely, unabashedly in control. He is completely sovereign. But…He not only rules over history and the spiritual forces at work, but He is also intimately involved throughout all of it.

He is at work in our midst. Both externally at work AROUND us, and at work IN us bringing evil to its appointed end AROUND us and IN us.

Let’s dig in.

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

First, we are going to take a look at God’s sovereignty through Daniel 11. So let’s take a look at the kingdoms.

In this text we see kingdoms and rulers attacking each other, particularly the Seleucid (king of the north) empire and the Ptolemaic empire (the king of the south) that both came out of the fall of the greek empire and Alexander the Great’s kingdom being split into four. It is the exact same empire split that we see in Chapter 8. Antiochus 4 Ephiphanes, the evil king, we saw in 8 is a main character in this text too.

We also see a ton of detail we haven’t seen before. We see a marriage to try and bridge the gap between some empires (v6). But still, lots and lots of war. We see transfers of gold and theft (v8) So many details about war like siegeworks being used (v15).

I could go on, but I wanted to highlight these because this text is eerie to many scholars who study it in depth because it is so historically accurate and it was written BEFORE the events took place. The first 35 verses of Daniel 11 are essentially things we have seen before, but with a very extravagant level of detail we have NOT seen prior.

This highlights God’s sovereignty by revealing His omniscience. God is omniscient, which means God is all-knowing.

God knows all the details. He knows them so intricately, that he gives them to his messenger, who shares them with Daniel in vivid detail.

Daniel 11:1-2

“And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
“And now I will show you the truth…

God knows it ALL. And he is giving Daniel a glimpse, through apocalyptic prophecy, of what is to come. God is giving Daniel this vision in such detail that there is no way Daniel can walk away and not realize that God knows everything going on. Part of Babylon for the Israelites is to trust. Don’t trust all these idolatrous nations that keep fighting, don’t be like them. Desire something MORE than what you are experiencing now and MORE than what the world has to offer. Trust in God who is over all those things.

God’s sovereignty should comfort us in a similar way. He knows the things going on between nations. He’s aware. Better yet…he doesn’t need us to worry about it or try to solve it all. He’s got it! This isn’t abdication, but it is trust. When we look out on the world and see all the goings on, is that what we want? Isn’t there something better?

He’s got the whole world in His hands…:)

We’ll talk more about this in a bit. That was God’s omniscience. He’s all-knowing. Let’s look at another aspect of God’s sovereignty highlighted specifically by this passage. God’s omnipotence. God is omnipotent, which means he is all-powerful.

He is in utter and complete control of what is going on. He is dictating the very times and boundaries of nations in this passage. As you go through these verses you will see over and over the messenger telling Daniel very time-based and movement-based language…

3 Then a mighty king shall arise…
5 Then the king of the south shall be strong…
6 After some years they shall make an alliance…
9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south…
11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north…
14 In those times many shall rise against the king of the south…
15 Then the king of the north shall come…
18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands…
19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land…
20 Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
29 At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before.
34-35 When they stumble…until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

You might be thinking…well that was a bit of a firehose of verses…That’s kinda the point! The abundance of language surrounding time, boundaries, decision, and movement of nations reveals to us that God is in complete control.

He not only KNOWS what is going on and when the appointed time of the end is, but he also is in complete control appointing the times when nations end, present when people and nations stumble, at work when kings are attacking kings.

He is setting the boundaries, not these players on the world stage. His kingdom, inaugurated in the person of Jesus Christ, supersedes these earthly realms.

We struggle with omnipotence and omniscience. Even if we don’t realize it, we always want to understand everything, or act as though we already do. We try to control this situation or how that person votes or how that family parents or how this organization is run. We operate as if we know best.

We don’t need control of the future when you trust the One who has appointed it.

You might be thinking, “Sure, God is sovereign. But why is he allowing all this war and destruction to happen?” That is a phenomenal question. So let’s answer it together.

At Work In Our Midst: REFINEMENT

There are sorta three ways we are going to sift through that answer. They all sit in the transition of the passage. After the first 35 verses there is a shift from history (to us) to future. All of it is the future for Daniel though.

To begin we must remember that Israel is in Babylon, in exile, for their refinement. That is the first thing we need to notice. Refinement. Lets read…

Daniel 11:32-35

32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

God is allowing all of this for their refinement. God, in his sovereignty, allows for Israel to experience the outcome of their choices…Even the wise stumble.

We see here that the refining even draws out those in the midst of Israel who violate the covenant. The refining is not only personal, but also communal.

There is an active discipline from God at work here, but also a very present reality that Israel chose idols other than God. They chose their own way. So God allowed it. We see here the tension between freewill and God’s absolute sovereignty…yet He does NOT abandon them.

In God’s economy of grace…we see this all the way back in the Garden of Eden…in his economy of grace, God allows us to choose between him and ourselves. His way or our way. Over and over again we choose ourselves. Our own way….but he keeps pursuing us.

God, in his sovereignty, refines us as a whole and as individuals. He is refining the evil from our midst. When we see Christians following this leader or that movement, or submit themselves to that ideology over there, or this new idea over here. Guess what…God is at work refining people. He will hold onto them if they stray or release them to go their own way. Yet he wants all of them to come to him and believe.

If we trust God, we can trust him when these things happen too. Even the new testament points to this reality.

1 John 2:19

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Daniel 11, with all of the violence and rising and falling of kingdoms. All the death. Some, even the wise, walk away and follow the leaders of this world. But God is at work refining his people.

God doesn’t just rule history, He walks with His people through it. He is rooting out the evil in us and around us.

For my coffee lovers out there…you don’t brew a beautiful tasting cup with the raw coffee beans. What do you have to do? Roast the beans, grind them, then pour the water through them. There are so many methods of this, but the general principle is the same.

God is refining his people so their aroma and flavor and taste in the world they live in is correct and distinct, robust, fruity, earthy flavor. The flavor that reveals his reign and brings Him the ultimate glory. God is setting the grind size. He is setting the roast levels. Trust him to deliver on the best tasting brew.

At Work In Our Midst: PRESERVING HIS PEOPLE

Now that is refinement. You may be wondering how you, the coffee bean, will ever make it through the roasting, grinding, and brew process. Well this brings us to another way God is at work. He is preserving his people through it all. Read those verses at the bridge from the history of verses 1-35 to the future of verses 36-45 again…

Daniel 11:32-35

32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

Notice something special here church…God is soverign…his people SHALL stand firm.

Not MIGHT. Not PERHAPS. But SHALL stand firm and take action. God SHALL preserve us through it all, church. We stand not on the strength of nations or groups or kings, but on the very word and power of the living God.

The powers of this world come and go. Our own authority trickles in and rushes out. But God’s authority will NEVER be shaken. The people who know God SHALL stand firm and take action.

We are preserved not for simply standing idle but for an ACTIVE purpose. This is not a sit still and wait sort of theology. This is a call for action in this world. We can participate in the refinement and respond to God’s preserving us.

Jeremiah 29:4-7, salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), Matthew 28:18-20, rise and go about the king’s business (faithful in our daily steps), Malachi 3 (internal refinement)

This is not a work based faith at all. It is a response of love and obedience to the God who is in our midst and who is working.

God, in his infinite grace and sovereignty, chose to pursue us, even when we chose our own way. He chose to walk in our midst, even as a person, Jesus. We stand firm and take action not to earn his favor, but because of his favor for us. We stand firm and take action by KNOWING HIM. He is present through it all. He is in our midst.

God is sovereign over all things, and He is at work in our midst bringing evil to its appointed end.

At Work In Our Midst: THE APPOINTED END OF EVIL

That brings us to the final part of how Daniel 11 reveals God is at work in the midst of Israel and history, and at work in our midst. This text at the end of our passage describes the antichrist of the future days. Antiochus IV Epiphanes is similarly described earlier in our text. He is actually a TYPE of antichrist figure.

Daniel 11:36-39

“And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.

I want the opposite of what this passage portrays. I bet you do too. As Nick so aptly put it, “I want the antithesis of Antiochus.” I want the antithesis of the antichrist.

Just look at what this text presents…a ruler, the antichrist, who does what he wills. Does whatever he wants. We have seen rulers like this in history…even in the present times we have lived. It's horrifying.

He exalts himself. Only thinks of himself and talks of his own world. Never once thinking of another if it doesn’t work toward his own gain.

He shall magnify himself like a god. He will lift himself up above all others.

A ruler who profanes God in word and deed. Earlier in the passage, if history is correct, the abomination that makes desolate was Antiochus IV Epiphanes sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal, on the altar in God’s temple. Here he speaks astonishing things against God. Whatever horrible thing you have heard a ruler say…this was worse.

The Antichrist will also prosper. He will thrive. He will bribe. Buy loyalty. He won’t listen to wisdom. He will do whatever he wants. He won’t listen to his fathers. In fact, he will worship at the altar of war.

All of THAT is what the world has to offer us.

Okay, I want to pause here to say something that is a little frightening…if we genuinely think about it…we do this too. We can be quick to judge the rulers and powers at be, but what about IN us?

We might not use violence, but we still do these things. We seek to control and to gain. We seek for our names to not be forgotten for our “people” to prosper. We fish for compliments. We do our own will and never even involve God. When I pick my own way, I am declaring, like these nations and evil rulers, that I am sovereign and God is not.

So hear this church, if you follow earthly rulers and kingdoms, what we read in this text is your end. Stumbling, war, violence, false gods, death, earthly rulers with temporary and very limited power. If we go our own way, the violent circus you have read about in these passages in Daniel, especially in chapter 11, is our end.

If you follow God, what we read here is NOT our end but simply a small part of our lived experience. Our future is way more beautiful than we can imagine. God’s plan was better. His plan is and was Jesus.

This evil ruler in the end times is aptly labeled as the antichrist for good reason you guys. Daniel didn’t fully get it then I don’t think, but the history he watched in violent vision leads to the climax of Christ’s incarnation and the inauguration of the Kingdom of God while he walked this earth. Jesus was utterly different than the rulers that came before.

Jesus did the Father’s will, not his own. He laid his own life down for the world.

Jesus humbled himself, and chose not to exalt himself, but through his humility brought about an eternal kingdom that exalts him as the name above every name and invites anyone to be part of his kingdom.

Jesus magnified God and ushered in a time where God was glorified and people of every earthly nation were welcomed. An eternal kingdom without borders.

Jesus chose not to call down an army of angels to overtake the world, but rather laid down his life so that peace would rule the day. He died so that one day, bloodshed would cease.

Jesus is the opposite of what the world has to offer.

And here is the beautiful part of all of it…read verse 45…

11:45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

I have said this in past sermons, and I will say it again. Evil has an expiration date. Evil has an appointed end. While we experience evil on this side of heaven, we can trust that God is at work. He was at work in the time of Daniel and is at work now. The antichrist, and every evil ruler that walks this earth until the times of the end, will do much damage, but they are on a short leash. It will only work into God’s plan. God’s purpose will be accomplished.