Trusting God When Kingdoms Collide
SERMON • When kingdoms collide and chaos seems to reign, is God truly in control? Daniel 11 gives a resounding answer: God sovereignly rules over all history. As one of Scripture’s most detailed historical prophecies, Daniel 11 calls us to trust God’s Providence, stand courageously, and hope in God’s promised deliverance.
The World Feels Like Chaos
Most days, the 24-hour news cycle churns with developing global crises: arms races between superpowers, air raid sirens in Ukraine, and even the angry chants and banners rising from a crowded Iranian parliament—Al-mawt li Amrika, al-mawt li Israel (“Death to America, death to Israel”).
Headlines just from this past week include mention of Russia’s vicious chemical weapons attacks on Ukrainian civilians, Pacific allies training for a fight with China (The Wall Street Journal), and the collapsing democracy of the nation of Georgia inviting the opportunism of Russia, China, and Iran (CNN). And the take-home message? “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Humanity really is like an enormous chessboard with all the pieces in motion at once. And who can keep track? Is anyone actually keeping track? Is anyone in charge? Is human history just a cacophony of the masses vying for power and dominance, marching to the drum of natural selection, with survival going to the fittest? Or is there a grandmaster governing the chessboard of history?
Who Governs the Chessboard of Human History?
This is the very question Daniel 11 answers—for his day and for ours. The world of Daniel 11 rumbled with shifting empires—Persia’s might, Greece’s ambition, armies storming back and forth across the chessboard—with ordinary people, particularly God’s people, feeling small and exposed, wondering if faithfulness even matters in the end, and who will win the day.
Our message from Daniel 11 is titled, Trusting God When Kingdoms Collide.
Daniel 11 is like a divine spoiler alert for an ancient blockbuster movie. It’s as if God invites Daniel to look over His shoulder at the chessboard of history to reveal the major movements of key pieces—oppressive kings rising, kingdoms toppling, alliances shifting—and every outcome already being known and superintended by a power above all earthly powers. The angel speaking to Daniel for nearly the entire chapter tells him not only what will happen, but that behind every clash and collapse, God’s hand is guiding the board. Every pawn, every king and queen, every knight—all of them move freely of their own volition, yet within God’s sovereign, eternal plan.
Daniel 11 is lengthy and complex, with explicit prophecies about approximately 40–45 actual historical events that would come to pass between 530 BC and 164 BC—a range of over 350 years—with some possible elements referring to events yet to come in history. For this reason, I won’t try to read or comment on every verse of the chapter. I’ll spare you 15 subpoints to each of my three main points. I’ll focus instead on the three main movements in the broader prophecy and its relevance for Daniel’s day and ours.
1. The Pawns: God’s Rule Over the Nations (vv. 1–20)
Verses 2–4 read:
“And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.”
Xerxes and the Decline of Persia
Verses 1–20 sweep through centuries of ancient Near Eastern history with remarkable prophetic precision. The prophecy begins with the prediction that “three more kings” would arise in Persia after Cyrus, followed by a fourth “far richer than all of them,” who would stir up war against Greece. Historically, the fourth Persian king from Cyrus was Xerxes, famed for his immense wealth. He would lead a massive campaign against Greece in 480 BC, which would end in defeat and mark the slow decline of Persian dominance in the world (source: Herodotus). This is the same Xerxes you see in the movie 300. These are true events foretold before they happened.
Alexander the Great Foretold
Next, Daniel foresees a “mighty king” who would rule with great dominion—undoubtedly referring to Alexander the Great (336–323 BC). Alexander’s conquest was swift, crushing the Persian Empire and establishing a vast realm from Greece to India (sources: Plutarch, Arrian). Yet his sudden death in 323 BC led to the breakup of Alexander’s empire, which, as Daniel learns from the angel, would not be divided among his offspring but among his four generals—Ptolemy would rule over Egypt, Seleucus over Syria and Babylon, Cassander over Macedonia, and Antigonus over Asia Minor. Remarkably, this division of Greek power fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy that Alexander’s kingdom would be “divided toward the four winds… but not to his posterity” (i.e., his sons) (sources: Diodorus, Josephus).
Berenice’s Murder Sparks War
From verse 5 onward, the focus shifts to the ongoing conflict between the kings of the south (the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt) and the kings of the north (the Greek Seleucid dynasty in Syria). Their struggle would feature the ill-fated marriage of Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II, to Antiochus II. Her subsequent betrayal and murder would trigger her brother Ptolemy III’s campaign of vengeance against Syria (c. 246–241 BC; sources: Polybius, Diodorus). Each of these events in Daniel 11 are explicitly prophesied, only without mentioning their names.
As the two dynasties clashed, Ptolemy IV would subdue Antiochus III, who would later regain strength and, by 198 BC, seize Judea from Egyptian control (sources: Polybius, Josephus). Eventually, Antiochus III would turn west, but after invading the homeland, Greece, he would be defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC (sources: Livy, Appian).
Antiochus III would die in 187 BC, being succeeded by Seleucus IV, who—like Daniel 11 says—would impose heavy taxation on Judea before his sudden assassination in 175 BC (source: 2 Maccabees 3). Through every conflict, alliance, and reversal, the prophecies matched later historical events, all of which unfolded within the limits of God’s sovereign purposes.
Relevance Beyond Ancient History
What does this mean for us? Daniel’s vision was not merely relevant for ancient history as a comfort to Daniel’s fellow Jews in the three centuries that followed. It’s relevant to our present day: the great powers, institutions, and corporations—the Kim Jong Uns and George Soroses of our world—are no less under God’s sovereign rule today than past kingdoms, and powers, and people. God’s providence did not end at the borders of ancient Persia, Greece, or Rome. He rules over every moment, every nation, every circumstance—even when it looks chaotic and out of control to us.
Trusting God’s Sovereignty in the Macro and Micro
So, what are we called to do? As God’s people, we are to cultivate unwavering trust in God’s sovereign involvement in history, over its rulers, and over its people. Human leaders are but pawns on God’s chessboard: God rules over the nations, the angel tells us. And if God governs the nations on a macroscale, doesn’t it necessitate that he rules in human affairs on the microscale?
This means he’s in control over nations rising and falling today. And he’s sovereign over that friend or sibling or child whose marriage arrangement you’re not excited about. He is providentially ruling over local and national elections. And he is superintending even our financial successes and failures that we achieve—and sometimes fail to achieve—as free moral agents in a fallen world. And we can trust him through it all as our Deliverer in it all.
But what happens when evil gets really close—when our faith becomes costly to us, and compromise and capitulation seem the easy way out—when it comes to our politics, or surrendering to modern sexual revolution ideology, or how we use our money, or how we invest our time or our retirement? This is what verses 21–35 are all about.
2. The Remnant: Courage Under Attack (vv. 21–35)
Verses 21–24 read:
“In his place [that is, in the place of the Greek ruler Antiochus the Great of v.20] shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.”
The Rise of Antiochus Epiphanes
Verses 21–35 center on the rise and tyranny of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC), a Greek Seleucid ruler notorious for his cruelty toward the Jewish people. Described in verse 21 as a “contemptible person” who “obtains the kingdom by flatteries,” history tells us that Antiochus Epiphanes seized power through shrewd political manipulation, bypassing the rightful heir, Demetrius, and exploiting turmoil in the Seleucid dynasty (sources: Polybius, Josephus). Shortly after his accession, Antiochus deposed and later orchestrated the murder of the Jewish high priest, Onias III (source: 2 Maccabees 4). Relying on deceit and a core group of Jewish disloyalists, he consolidated power and began plundering the wealth of Syria and Judea, “scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods” (v. 24; source: 1 Maccabees 1).
Returning from a failed campaign in Egypt in 169 BC, Antiochus would vent his rage on Jerusalem, massacring thousands and pillaging the temple (source: 1 Maccabees 1:20–28). He abolished temple sacrifices and erected a statue of Jupiter Olympius in the temple—an act Daniel’s angel calls “the abomination that makes desolate” (v. 31; source: Calvin). He further desecrated the temple by offering a pig on the altar, an act of supreme insult to Jewish law. Second Maccabees 5:14 records that some 40,000 Jews were slain and another 40,000 enslaved in Jerusalem alone.
A Remnant of Faithful Jews
As part of the Jewish resistance, the godly priests and faithful Israelites were the “wise” Daniel refers to, who instructed many, even while many fell “by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder” (v. 33). The famous Maccabean revolt is alluded to as offering God’s people what Daniel foresees as “a little help” (v. 34). Ultimately, Daniel prophesies that a period of intense suffering would purify the faithful—a time later understood to have culminated in the rededication of the temple in 164 BC after the Maccabean revolt. In fact, this event is commemorated by Jews to this day as the holiday of Hanukkah (see 1 Maccabees 4:36–59).
In summary, verses 21–35 teach us that God’s chosen people faithfully and courageously took a stand and endured persecution, falling by sword, fire, and captivity on account of it. But through every trial, God was purifying and preserving a remnant, refining His people until the time of deliverance He alone had set (vv. 32–35).
But What About Us Today?
What do verses 21–35 mean for us? Do you know that we, too, are called to endure challenging times faithfully, refusing to compromise our obedience to God’s Word, no matter the personal cost? As God’s remnant in the world, we are called to courage even when under pressure or attack from the powers that be. And we can draw encouragement from the saints who stood firm in the past—becoming hopeful and resilient ourselves, knowing that God preserves His people even in the darkest of times. Is that your hope today for our world? God’s preserving grace? God’s timely and promised deliverances? And if not in God, in what or in whom are you trusting today?
Illustration: Valley Forge and Providence
During a harsh winter at Valley Forge during the American War of Independence, George Washington’s army faced hunger, extreme cold, and despair of winning the war against Great Britain, a world superpower at the time. According to reports, Washington was often seen kneeling, melting a circle in the snow, praying for God’s help.
At his first inauguration, Washington, a devout Christian, reminded the young nation: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”
Similarly, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin—who had been a staunch Deist, believing that God exists but is uninvolved in the world—affirmed this: “I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?” (James Madison’s Notes on the Federal Convention of 1787, June 28).
So, when you wake up tomorrow, will Daniel 11 shape your responses to a world that rewards compromise and punishes faithfulness?
Four Lessons from God’s Faithful Remnant
We must draw clear moral boundaries. If asked to act against your Christian convictions (like the Jews refusing Antiochus’s commands), will you purpose now to say “no”—even if it costs you popularity, opportunity, approval, or death?
We must pray boldly for courage. Before you face tough conversations or social pressures to compromise, will you pray specifically for courage to honor Christ, as one of the “wise” who instructed others under persecution?
We must resist isolation. It’s tempting, for example, to neglect attending your mission group, isn’t it? But Daniel’s faithful remnant didn’t stand alone, and neither will you. Are you investing in your small group, or just getting by and doing the minimum? Are you setting yourself up—and those in your sphere of influence—for courage and faithfulness, or are you setting each other up for isolation and compromise?
We must remember that God sets the limits of our suffering. Remind yourself, your family, and your brothers and sisters in Christ often that though evil may rage for a time, God draws its boundary lines. Our hope is to be found in God’s ultimate rule and victory over evil.
In fact, such hope is the overarching theme of the third movement of this prophecy, in verses 36–45.
3. The Checkmate: Hope Beyond the Reign of Evil (vv. 36–45)
Verse 36 reads:
“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.”
The Roman Empire on the Rise
These verses describe a “king” who exalts himself above every god, takes astonishing actions against God, and seems to prosper for a season. Many commentators—most notably John Calvin—see this as a prophecy about the rise and dominance of the Roman Empire as a whole. Rome emerged as the world power following the era of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the specifics in verses 36–45 don’t match well with Antiochus’s war campaigns. So, this “king” is best understood not as Antiochus Epiphanes or even a single individual, but as a new and unprecedented world empire, distinguished by its opposition to the God of Israel.
Interestingly, 2 Thessalonians 2 loosely quotes verse 36 in reference to the future antichrist: “He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.” The antichrist will come into the world at the end of time. Unfortunately, we don’t have nearly enough time to explore the antichrist as described in the New Testament in today’s message.
Verses 41–42 and 45 add:
“He shall come into the glorious land [i.e., Israel]. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. . . . 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.”
Every Empire Has an End, Except One
Despite its reign of terror, this world power will “come to its end, with none to help.” Is it not comforting and invigorating to know that every earthly kingdom will fall before the King of kings, the God of gods? We can stand on God’s sure promises that evil’s reign is always limited and that final deliverance is decreed. We can and we must interpret today’s fears and disappointments in light of God’s unbreakable purposes. So, when the world seems unmovable and evil appears to have the upper hand, we can remember that God has set an “appointed time” (v. 35) for every ruler, every oppressor, every enemy of His people. Evil does not get the last word—the final move on the board belongs to the true King.
The Gospel Foreshadowed
This entire prophecy is not just about Israel and ancient empires—it is about God who writes Himself into the fabric of time in Jesus Christ for the sake of His covenant people. Daniel 11 is a fitting prelude to the gospel to which we cling in the darkness. For centuries, God’s people suffered under Persian, Greek, and Roman powers, battered by tyrants and pressured to compromise. But in the fullness of time, Christ came—not as a military leader but as the suffering servant who conquered through his atoning death and resurrection.
Jesus experienced firsthand the hostility of compromised Jewish leaders, Roman rulers, the betrayal of a friend, and the ultimate cost of faithfulness—death on a Roman cross for our sins. Yet He did not avoid the purifying fire. He entered fully into it for us, and in so doing, He delivered us from our ultimate oppressors: Satan, sin, death, and all who oppose His righteous reign. Just as God preserved a Jewish remnant under the terror of Antiochus—the very remnant through whom He would provide us our Jewish Savior—He preserves His church in every age, redeeming us, refining us, and strengthening us. And just as Daniel 11 ends with the sudden collapse of evil, so our hope as believers is not that life will be easy for followers of Christ, but that Christ’s victory is full and final and that His unstoppable kingdom will rise without end.
Illustration: A Historic Chess Feat
In December of 2016, Timur Gareyev, a chess player from Uzbekistan, made history by playing 48 chess games simultaneously—blindfolded. A crowded Las Vegas ballroom buzzed with excitement as Timur, a grandmaster nicknamed “The Blindfold King,” sat at the center, his eyes covered by a thick black blindfold. All around him, forty-eight chessboards were lined up, each with a skilled opponent ready to challenge him. Timur listened as one by one, moves were called out:
“Board 6, knight to f3.”
“Board 27, pawn to e4.”
“Board 48, bishop takes c5.”
He couldn’t see a single piece, yet he held every board, every pawn and knight, every threat, in his mind alone. The crowd murmured, pieces clicked, and hours passed—almost 20 in total. Timur pedaled a stationary bike to stay sharp, sweat trickling down his face as the mental strain mounted. One mistake, and the whole effort could collapse with a single misstep. But at sunrise, Timur claimed 48 victories, shattering the world record for most simultaneous blindfold chess games.
God’s Power Dwarfs Human Brilliance
Timur’s feat is astonishing, yet Daniel 11 proves that God’s sovereign rule makes even this achievement look small and basic. God governs the past, present, and future—not just a measly forty-eight chessboards but all 195 nations, all 17,000 people groups, all 7,000+ languages, and the estimated 50–115 billion people who are believed to have ever lived to the present day—not blindfolded, but with perfect, all-knowing precision. God sees every heart before it deliberates and every action from all eternity and knows every possible outcome of every possible contingency. If we marvel at humanity’s fearsome power, how much more should we revere and trust and rest in our God’s meticulous providence in human history and in our lives?
Conclusion
So, no matter what is happening in and around you today, will you let Daniel 11 inspire you?
To trust in God’s providence over every pawn in your life and world.
To take your stand in courage in the face of pressures to compromise as God’s faithful remnant.
And to place your hope in Christ’s ultimate checkmate of every opponent.
Christ has already determined His final moves, and at the appointed Day every pawn, bishop, king, and queen will fall before Him:
“At the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow . . . and every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11). ❖
