The Covenant, the Contemptible, and the Courageous Text: Daniel 11:29-35
Introduction: History Written in Advance
The book of Daniel, and particularly this eleventh chapter, is a rock of offense to the modern mind. The scoffer, committed beforehand to his sterile materialism, sees this astonishingly accurate prophecy and concludes that it must have been written after the fact. He cannot allow for a God who knows the end from the beginning because such a God would have a claim on his life. So he invents "late-date" theories, not because of any compelling textual evidence, but because his worldview demands it. He is a man who, finding a perfect footprint on a deserted island, concludes that it must have formed by the random erosion of the sand. But for those of us who believe the Scriptures, this chapter is a profound confirmation of God's absolute sovereignty over the rise and fall of empires. God is not a spectator in human history; He is the author, and He has given us a few pages of the script in advance.
This chapter details, with stunning precision, the conflicts between the Ptolemaic kingdom of the south (Egypt) and the Seleucid kingdom of the north (Syria), the two major successor empires that emerged from Alexander the Great's conquests. The passage before us today zeroes in on the career of one particularly nasty character, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He is a vile man, a contemptible person, and a forerunner, a type, of the final Antichrist. What he did to the people of God in the second century B.C. serves as a template for what the enemies of God will always attempt to do.
But this is not just an academic history lesson. This is a story about the holy covenant. It is about a God who has bound Himself to His people, and the rage of the world against that covenant. It is a story about apostasy and faithfulness, about compromise and courage. In this passage, we see three groups of people: the arrogant tyrant who profanes God's sanctuary, the covenant-breakers who collaborate with him, and the covenant-keepers who know their God and stand firm. As we walk through this, I want you to ask yourself which group you belong to. Because these same dynamics are at play in our own day, though the costumes have changed.
The Text
"At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not happen the way it did before. Indeed, ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. Mighty forces from him will stand, profane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in intrigue. And some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the time of the end, because it is still to come at the appointed time."
(Daniel 11:29-35 LSB)
Humiliation and Indignation (v. 29-30)
We begin with the tyrant's failed campaign and his subsequent rage.
"At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not happen the way it did before. Indeed, ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant." (Daniel 11:29-30)
Notice the first phrase: "At the appointed time." This is God's time. Antiochus thinks he is acting according to his own will, but he is moving on God's timetable. God is sovereign over the schedules of wicked men. This man, Antiochus Epiphanes, makes another move on Egypt, but this time he is met with a superior force. The "ships of Kittim" refers to the Roman navy. The Roman envoy, Popillius Laenas, famously drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and demanded that he agree to withdraw from Egypt before stepping out of it. Utterly humiliated and fuming, Antiochus retreats.
Now, a normal king would be angry at Rome. But Antiochus is not a normal king; he is a type of the Serpent. And who does a defeated and humiliated tyrant lash out at? He doesn't go after the Romans who shamed him. He is a coward. Instead, he turns his fury on the people of God. He becomes "indignant at the holy covenant." Why? Because the very existence of a people bound to the transcendent God of heaven is an intolerable offense to a man who wants to be god himself. The holy covenant represents a loyalty that he cannot command and an authority that supersedes his own. It is a declaration that Caesar is not, in fact, Lord.
And in his rage, he finds allies. He shows "regard for those who forsake the holy covenant." There is always a fifth column, a group of apostates within the visible people of God. These were the Hellenizing Jews, men who were embarrassed by the old paths, who wanted to be sophisticated and modern. They saw the worship of Jehovah as provincial and outdated. They wanted to get along with the culture, to be relevant. So they collaborated with the enemy. The tyrant outside the gates is always aided by the traitors inside the city. They forsake the covenant because they love the world, and so they become useful tools for the one who hates God.
The Abomination and the Apostates (v. 31-32a)
Antiochus's rage now culminates in a direct assault on the worship of God.
"Mighty forces from him will stand, profane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant..." (Daniel 11:31-32a)
This is the historical fulfillment that Jesus Himself points to as a pattern. Antiochus's forces marched into Jerusalem, entered the Temple, and stopped the daily sacrifices ordained by God. This was a declaration of war on God Himself. But he didn't stop there. He set up "the abomination of desolation." History tells us he erected an altar to Zeus in the holy place and sacrificed a pig on it. This was the ultimate act of defilement and contempt. It was an "abomination" because it was idolatry of the highest order, and it brought "desolation" because it rendered the Temple unclean and unusable for its holy purpose.
This event in 167 B.C. is a historical anchor. But we must understand how prophecy works. It often has multiple fulfillments, like a mountain range where you see one peak, and then another, taller peak behind it. This act by Antiochus was a preview. The Lord Jesus picks up this very phrase in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:15) and applies it to the coming destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The "abomination" then was the Roman armies surrounding the holy city, which was a sign for the Christians to flee. And both of these events point forward to a final, ultimate abomination of desolation set up by the final Antichrist at the end of history.
But how does the tyrant accomplish this? Not just by brute force, but by seduction. "By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant." The apostates are not simply coerced; they are flattered. The enemy tells them how enlightened they are, how reasonable it is to abandon their distinctiveness. He uses words like "tolerance," "progress," and "unity." He makes wickedness sound sophisticated and faithfulness sound bigoted. This is how apostasy always works. It is a slow seduction, a series of small compromises greased with flattering words, until the covenant is completely abandoned.
The Courageous and the Wise (v. 32b-33)
But in the midst of this darkness, a remnant stands firm.
"...but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days." (Genesis 11:32b-33)
This is the glorious pivot. While the collaborators are being seduced by smooth words, another group emerges: "the people who know their God." This is the foundation of all true resistance. It is not about knowing political strategies or military tactics first. It is about knowing God. To know Him is to know His character, His promises, His law, His sovereignty. And this knowledge is not mere academic information; it is relational, covenantal knowledge. This knowledge produces two things: strength and action. They "display strength" (or are strong) and they "take action." This is where the Maccabean revolt came from. It was a movement born out of a refusal to bow, a deep conviction that it is better to obey God rather than men.
Within this faithful remnant, there are leaders, "those who have insight." These are the teachers, the pastors, the men who give "understanding to the many." In a time of confusion and compromise, the task of the wise is to teach. They explain the times. They remind the people of the covenant. They strengthen the weak knees and encourage the faint hearts. They are the theological backbone of the resistance.
But notice the immediate consequence. This faithfulness is not rewarded with immediate earthly success. It is met with brutal persecution. They will "fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days." Faithfulness in a wicked age is costly. The world does not applaud those who resist its seductions. It kills them. We must have this firmly fixed in our minds. The promise is not that we will escape suffering, but that God will be with us in the midst of it.
A Little Help and a Great Refining (v. 34-35)
The passage concludes by describing the nature of their struggle and its ultimate purpose.
"Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in intrigue. And some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the time of the end, because it is still to come at the appointed time." (Daniel 11:34-35)
In the midst of their persecution, God grants them "a little help." This likely refers to the initial successes of the Maccabees. It wasn't a glorious, final deliverance. It was just enough help to keep going. God often works this way, providing just enough grace, just enough strength for the next step, not for the whole journey at once. But this "little help" also attracts opportunists. "Many will join with them in intrigue," or with hypocrisy. When a faithful movement starts to have some success, it will always attract fair-weather friends who are not truly committed to the cause. The church must always be wary of this.
But what is the ultimate purpose of this fiery trial? Even "some of those who have insight will fall." The teachers, the leaders, are not exempt. Why? "In order to refine, purge, and make them pure." God uses persecution as a refiner's fire. It burns away the dross. It separates the true believers from the hypocrites. It purifies the motives of the faithful. It teaches us to depend on Him alone. Suffering is God's crucible for His people. It is not pointless. It is purposeful. It is making us ready.
And this refining process will continue "until the time of the end, because it is still to come at the appointed time." The struggle is long. The final victory is not yet here. We live between the "little help" and the final consummation. We are in the period of refining. But it is all on God's schedule. The end has an "appointed time." The tyrant's rage has a limit. The persecution has a boundary. God holds the stopwatch.
Conclusion: Know Your God and Take Action
So what does this ancient prophecy have to do with us? Everything. We live in an age that is increasingly "indignant at the holy covenant." Our secular overlords despise the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. They hate the biblical distinctions between male and female, the sanctity of life, and the authority of God's law. They are setting up their own abominations in our public squares and, tragically, even in some of our churches.
And they are using "smooth words" to seduce those who are willing to forsake the covenant. They talk of inclusion, affirmation, and social justice, all while gutting the gospel of its power. They flatter the compromisers and call them courageous, while labeling the faithful as hateful bigots.
In the face of this, the call to us is the same as it was then. First, we must be a people who "know their God." We must be steeped in the Scriptures. We must know our theology. We cannot resist the spirit of the age if we do not have our minds shaped by the Word of God. A shallow, sentimental Christianity will be swept away by the first wave of opposition.
Second, this knowledge must lead to strength and action. We are not called to be passive observers of our culture's decay. We are called to resist. This means raising our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It means building strong churches that do not bow the knee to Baal. It means speaking the truth in public, even when it costs us. It means taking action, in our homes, our communities, and our nations, to see the crown rights of King Jesus acknowledged.
And third, we must be prepared to suffer. The path of faithfulness is the path of the cross. They may take our reputation, our livelihood, or even our lives. But we must remember that this suffering is not meaningless. It is God's appointed means of refining us, purging us, and making us pure. Our persecutors are unwittingly serving God's purpose for His church. They are making us more like Jesus.
The time is appointed. The end is set. The victory is assured because our King has already risen from the dead. Therefore, know your God, be strong, and take action. For the covenant He has made with us in the blood of His Son is an everlasting covenant, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.