The Holy Spirit In The End Times Series

The Holy Spirit in the End Times.

Book of Daniel Series

June 8th, 2025

Text: Daniel 11:32-35 (CSB)

Introduction:

Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church. It’s a day to rejoice in the Spirit’s power, presence, and purpose in our lives.

I know most of you aren’t bible nerds like me, but over the last few years there has been a lot of discussion about our understanding of the end times. For over a thousand years, the church’s primary belief on the end time is what we would call today, Amillennial. In short, this belief holds that Jesus suddenly returns at the end of this age, judges evil, and sets up his eternal kingdom on earth, and that most of the apocalyptic imagery and text found in prophetic books is allegory and not to be taken literally. However, during the spiritual awakenings of the 19th century, the premillennial understanding of the end-times rose in popularity. This is our primary eschatology we hold to, that states the rapture, or the taking away of the church, will occur before the Great Tribulation happens, and with it the Holy Spirit’s current role as we understand it today.

Why do I believe that?

2Th 2:7-8 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming.

Contextually, we know that the “he” that is taken out of the way is the Holy Spirit leaving this current role when the church is raptured. When the church leaves, in a large part, HE will as well, allowing the antichrist to rise to power.

It’s important for us to realize- if this interpretation is correct, this is still a future event.

I want to tell you this morning that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the church, and is available for any follower of Jesus Christ who seeks HIM out, and the Spirit’s power has not lessened one iota from the first Pentecost to today.

Now that we have established that-

Specifically, what does this mean for us in 2025?

What is the Spirit’s primary ministry to us as believers and followers of Jesus.

Why are so many people seeming to drift away from their faith in Jesus the Christ?

We’re going to shed some light on these questions for you this morning.

When I was in bible school, and came upon this morning’s scripture in Old Testament Studies, and then again in the Prophetic Books class, I was intrigued as to what they meant. I was still young in the faith, and was bothered a little as to how we interpreted their truth.

I’ve come to believe the scripture we are about to read is going to instruct us and show us the final ministry of the Holy Spirit during these last days, and how believers are going to go through some amount of fire, but when they stand before Christ to give HIM an account, they will worship HIM for it.

Daniel 11 deals with an entire panorama of prophetic history, most of which we have covered in other chapters. Daniel now shifts to this mysterious man called the antichrist, but then tells us how God’s people will act in the world as the end approaches.

Let’s read God’s word this morning

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Dan 11:32-35 With flattery he (antichrist) will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action. (33) Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many, (look closely at these next few verses because you might see yourself or your loved ones here) yet they will fall by the sword and flame, and they will be captured and plundered for a time. (34) When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely. (35) (Focus) Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Prayer

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We are going to start with brief glance at the rest of Daniel 11.

This whole chapter is God’s prophetic panorama of the end times, starting with Daniel, and working its way through Revelation. He talks of the Seleucid (Sell Lew Cid) and Ptolemaic (Ta La Mae ic) empires. It talks a person who will embody the same evil as the antichrist, Antiochus (Ant tye’ i cus) Epiphanes (Ep’ a phase), a ruthless Seleucid king who persecuted God’s people around 167 BC. He desecrated the temple, outlawed Jewish worship, and pressured God’s people to abandon their faith.