The last three chapters of Daniel (10-12) form one final vision and the most complete revelation Daniel received. They focus in particular on the pressure two nations would place on Israel, but the twelfth chapter of Daniel assures that Israel will be delivered in that final day.
Daniel’s final vision begins with a date formula, just as it also appeared in 1:1; 2:1; 7:1; 8:1; and 9:1. The date was “The third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, which would place this vision almost three years after the vision in 9:1, which took place in the “first year of Darius.” This would place it as late as 536 B.C. This means that if Daniel entered Babylonian civil service in 605/6 B.C., then the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia would have marked the end of the seventy years of captivity in Babylon, the same time period the prophet Jeremiah had predicted (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10).
Already, two years earlier, a small group had gone back to Jerusalem and had attempted to rebuild the temple, but a work stoppage had halted that effort because of opposition from their own people in Jerusalem. Whether Daniel was still in public office, we do not know for sure, yet Daniel 1:21 suggests that Daniel held office at least until the first year of Cyrus.
The four visions that make up the final part of Daniel’s book (chapters 7-12) fall into chronological order, just as the narratives of chapters 1-6 did. Thus, chapters 7 and 8 came in the first and third years of Belshazzar’s reign, which belong chronologically between chapters 4 and 5 in the narrative section. Likewise chapters 9 and 10-12 came in the first and third years of Cyrus’s reign and so they came later than the time of the narratives in chapters 1-6.
The last three chapters of Daniel, broadly speaking, fall into a three-part structure: (1) a prologue in 10:1- 19, (2) a report of the vision in 10:20-12:4, and (3) an epilogue in 12:5-13.
OUTLINE:
Title: “Preparing for a Time of Distress and Deliverance”
Text: Daniel 10:1 — 12:13
Focal Point: 12:1, “At that time…. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered.”
Homiletical Keyword: “Times”
Interrogative: What are the Times of Distress and Deliverance?
Teaching Aim: To understand how God will introduce times of distress before he sends his final deliverance to all who belong to him.
I. The Vision From the Heavenly Messenger (10:1—11:1)
A. The Vision on the Banks of the Tigris (10:1-4)
B. The Man in Linen at the Tigris River (10:5-9)
C. Explaining to Daniel Future Happenings to Israel (10:10-11:1)
II. The Prophecies About the Nations as They Prepare for the Final Conflict with Israel (11:2-45)
A. The Prophecy About Persia (11:2)
B. The Prophecy About Greece (11:3)
C. The Prophecies About the King of the South and the King of the North (11:5-20)
D. The Prophecy for the Last King of the South (11:21-35)
E. The Prophecy About the Willful King (11:36-45)
III. The Prophecies About Israel at the End of Time (12:1-13)
A. The Great Tribulation (12:1)
B. The Resurrection of the Dead (12:2)
C. The Final Reward of the Just (12:3)
D. The Disposition of These Prophetic Words (12:4-13)
(STUDY OF TEXT BEGINS…)
I. The Vision from the Heavenly Messenger (10:1 -11:1)
A. The Vision on the Banks of the Tigris (10:1-4)
The opening verse is given by the narrator in the third person, while the vision itself is in the first person. He introduced the content of this vision as a “revelation” (Hebrew, galah), i.e., an “uncovering” or a “disclosure” from God to his servant Daniel. But this revelation was as much a “word” from God as well, for the narrator also called it a “message” (Hebrew, dabar, “word,” which came to him in a “vision” (Hebrew, mar’eh, 10:1), what could be “seen” as well. The message itself “concerned a great war” (10:1), but no more data is given at this point.
Some commentators note that Daniel’s date formulas cluster in the first three years of a king, which suggests that Yahweh was Lord even in the key transitions of history. Thus, this fourth vision came three years after the revelation of the vision of the “seventy sevens” in chapter 9.
King Cyrus had entered the city of Babylon as conqueror in October of 539 and established the Medo-Persian Empire. One of his first edicts came in March of 538 B.C, when he permitted captive groups, whom the Babylonians had taken from their homelands, to go back home to the countries from which they had been taken. This also applied to the Hebrews as well, even though they are not mentioned on the famous “Cyrus Cylinder,” which described this edict of Cyrus. But Daniel remained behind in the land of captivity, as the listing of his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, would remind him and us (10:1). Thus, within the year, Sheshbazzar (Ezr 1:1-4, 11) led some of the Hebrew captives back home and he rebuilt the sacrificial altar (Ezr 3: 1-3). They proceeded to lay the foundation footers for building the second temple in April of 536 B.C., but that effort was soon abandoned and left undone for the next sixteen years due to the division between the younger generation and the older folks who had seen the size of the (First) Solomonic Temple compared to this small footprint of the proposed new temple (Ezr 4:1, 24). The oldsters though the times were not right for such a project, but the younger generation was so glad to see something was now underway that they rejoiced; but as a result of the discord, both lost!
The message that Daniel now received, however, was so heavy that Daniel fasted for “three weeks” (2), for he cut out all gourmet (“choice food,” 10:3) foods, all meat and wine, and he used “no lotions” until the three weeks were over (3). The rejection of all lotions may seem easy enough until we recall that the climate of Israel was similar to some desert climates, therefore it was necessary to lubricate the skin in such low humidity climates. This time would have included festal anointing with oil as an indication of one’s joy and gladness at festival time.
Daniel found himself standing on the banks of the Tigris River (4) at the time of the feasts of the Passover and Unleavened bread (4a; cf. Lev 23:5), which also fell “on the twenty-fourth day of the first month” (4a). This mighty Tigris River was some 1150 miles long, but 500 miles shorter than the Euphrates River on the west side of Babylon. Why he was on the banks of the Tigris River at that time, he does not say, whether on a business trip for the Medo-Persian government, or he was there just for seclusion and rest.
B. The Man in Linen at the Tigris River (10:5-9)
Daniel “looked up, and there before [him] was a man dressed in linen” (5a). Linen dress was the traditional dress for Israel’s priests (Exod 28:5, 39, 42), but it also signified purity (Exod 28:42). The prophet Ezekiel also had seen an angel dressed in linen (Ezk 9:2-3), and angels appear in the New Testament clothed in bright linen (Rev 15:6), but was this “man” an angel, or even the interpreting angel Gabriel, who had appeared earlier to Daniel (8:16; 9:21)?
However, since the description of this “man” exceeds all ordinary angels and since his description shares in common four features with the “Son of Man” in Revelation 1:13-16, we would favor this being a Christophony, a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. Daniel did call this vision a “great vision” (8a), perhaps for this reason. The four features Daniel’s vision shared with The “Son of Man” in Revelation 1:13-16 were: (1) “a belt of the finest gold around his waist” (5b) is similar to: “with a golden sash around his chest” (Rev 1:13c); (2) “his eyes [were] like flaming torches” (6c); is similar to: “his eyes were like blazing fire” (Rev 1:14c); (3) his “legs like the gleam of burnished bronze” (6d); is similar to: “His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace” (Rev 1:15a); and (4) “his voice like the sound of a multitude” (6e); is similar to: “his voice was like the sound of rushing waters” (Rev 1:15b).
This one, who appeared to Daniel, was a ”man” (5a, cf. Dan 7:13-14)), who was distinguished from the archangel Michael in Daniel 12:6-7. Therefore, we note the progress in revelation to Daniel from an interpreted dream to the highest form of revelation from the second person of the trinity himself. We have already commented on his linen garment and the fact that his waist had a belt of gold from Uphaz, which may be the same place as Ophir. Therefore, when Near Eastern people went for a walk, or on a trip, they pulled up their long outer garment to their chest and belted their waist in to hold the long garment up. Also, his body was like “chysolite” or topaz (6a), and his face was like “lightning” (6b). His eyes were more like “flaming torches,” while his arms and legs gleamed like burnished bronze” (6d). And when he spoke, it had the sound of a multitude (6e). This was the depiction of the pre-incarnate Christ. Christ had come to strengthen Daniel in his weakness after he saw the vision.
“Daniel was the only one who saw the vision (the men with [him] did not see it (10:7)), but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves” (7a-b). Thus, he was left alone to gaze on this vision, but it had a devastating effect of him so that he had no strength left in him (8). As the Son of Man spoke to him, Daniel fell into a deep sleep with his face to the ground (9). He had had a similar reaction to a vision when Gabriel had come to interpret a vision for him (8:17).
C. Explaining to Daniel Future Happenings to Israel (10:10-11:1)
The hand that touched him (10a) is not identified, but it would not seem that Christ would need the assistance of the angel Michael (13), who appears elsewhere in the Bible in verse 21 here and in Daniel 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7 and possibly in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. But whoever touched him, he got him up with his trembling hands and knees to a standing position, while the one touching him asserted that Daniel was indeed “highly esteemed” (10-11; cf. 9:23). Daniel stood there trembling as he was assured that this one had been sent to speak words to him that he was to consider very carefully (11b-c). His experience of being touched on the lips is reminiscent of Isaiah’s throne vision, wherein a live coal was taken from the altar by an angelic being to purify his lips (Isa 6:). But Daniel was not asking for purification, but for strength.
This one explained to Daniel why he had been tardy (12), for the words of Daniel’s prayers had been heard ever since the first day he prayed (12). But the answer was delayed because “the prince of the Persian kingdom” had resisted this messenger for “twenty-one days” (13). But Daniel was not to be afraid (12a), for God had wanted to show this “highly esteemed” man his divine favor.
This prince of the Persian kingdom is presented as a patron evil angel that exercised some sort of power over the Persian Empire as a delegate of Satan. The reality of evil angels is set forth in Scripture in passages like 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6. In other places the Bible makes a link between dumb idols and demons (Deut 32:17; Ps 106:37-38; 1 Cor 10:20). There is a real contest going on in this world at the level of spiritual forces of good and evil, as this passage teaches. The evil angel resisted the message getting through to Daniel about what would happen to his people Israel in the future (14). Thus Daniel is given an insight into the conflict being fought in the world of spirits to hinder the cause and the word of God from reaching Daniel. Nowhere does that conflict reach higher stakes than when the kingdom of Satan is confronted by the kingdom of God and its involvement with the people of Israel.
Daniel was still in the throes of his spiritual and emotional struggle that continued to render him “speechless”(15) by all this talk about a celestial warfare that was going on somewhere over the skies of Persia.
Daniel needed a second touch for added strength. He was told, “Do not be afraid….Peace! Be strong now; be strong” (19). Once again his visitor asked him, “Do you know why I have come to you?” (20a). The visitor had to return to fight with the Prince of Persia, and when he would leave, the Prince of Greece would come (20b-c). But there was a matter of business that had to be dealt with first before he returned to the fray; he had to tell him what was written in the Book of Truth” (21). This book, which was altogether reliable, contained the decisions and counsel of what would take place in the future. It was already written down (cf. Ps 56:8; 130:16; Mal 3:16). Since it is already recorded in God’s book, history will proceed according to Scripture as God has purposed it. This fact only heightens the tragedy of critical scholars, who had put Daniel in the Critic’s Den and had proposed that these prophecies and predictions were mere fantasies, in which this history of Daniel was written in the second century B.C., after the events it so accurately described, were finally recorded to look as if they were predictions when it had already happened.
II. The Prophecies About the Nations as They Prepare for the Final Conflict with Israel (11:2-45)
A. The Prophecy About Persia (11:2).
“Three more kings … then a fourth” does not mean three kings after Cyrus and then a fourth will come, for there were more than five Persian rulers. However, in line with the idiom of the wisdom sayings, “for three, yea four” (Prov 30:15-31; Amos 1-2), this would indicate the totality of examples of the Persian Kings, The best candidate for this “fourth” king would be Xerxes, since he was extremely wealthy and he it was who invaded Greece.
B. The Prophecy About Greece (11:3-4)
The “mighty king” mentioned here is undoubtedly Alexander the Great. He came to the throne vacated by his father Phillip in 336 B.C. He did indeed “rule with great power” and he did “as he please[d}.” He was unstoppable in his conquests.
At the height of Alexander’s power and conquests, he died of a fever in Babylon in 323 B.C. At the time of his death, his empire was eventually divided between his four generals: Macedonia and Greece were given to Cassander; Thrace and Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) were given to Lysimachus; Northern Syria, Mesopotamia and regions to the east were given to Seleucus and Southern Palestine and Egypt were given to Ptolemy. Therefore, the Greek Empire did “not go to [Alexander’s] descendants” (11:4b).
C. The Prophecies about the King of the South and the King of the North (11:5-20)
“The king of the South (11:5),“ named Ptolemy I Soter, son of Lagus, one of Alexander’s generals, became governor of Egypt. He announced he was king of Egypt in 305 B.C. and he founded a long lasting dynasty, But “one of his commanders” (11:5), named Peridiccas became regent until one of his generals named Seleucus became part of a group that assassinated Perdiccas in 321 B.C., as Seleucus gained control of Babylon, but was forced to flee from Perdiccas’s successor, Antigonus. Seleucus served as one of Ptolemy’s generals from 316-312 as Ptolemy and Seleucus defeated Antigonus in the Battle of Gaza, leaving Seleucus free to regain Babylon once again. This started the battle between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies for the control of Syria and Palestine over the next two centuries.
Around 250 B.C., Ptolemy II made a treaty with Seleucus II by giving him his daughter Bernice in marriage (6, “the daughter of the king of the South”). Antiochus I (280 – 261 B.C.) divorced his wife Laodice, and disinherited his two sons by Laodice, naming instead his new son by Berenice as the new inheritor of the throne, Two years later he was reconciled to Laodice, only to be poisoned as Laodice poisoned Berenice, her son, and those associated with her.
Since Berenice’s father died before her murder, it was left to her brother, Ptolemy III (246-221 B.C., 11:7, “One from her family line will arise”) to avenge her death. He invaded Syria, captured the cities of Antioch and Seleucia, killing Laodice, but before he returned to Egypt to deal with trouble. Seleucus II (246-226 B.C.), one of Laodice’s brothers, regained control of Syria in the meantime.
In 242 B.C., Seleucus II tried to invade Egypt (11:9), but he was forced to retreat. “His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army” (11:10), thus Seleucus III (226-223 B.C.) succeeded his father, but was murdered during his campaign in Asia Minor in 223 B.C. His brother Antiochus III (223-187 B.C.), with a large army, moved against Ptolemy IV (221-203 B.C.), but Ptolemy met him with his own large army (11:11) at Raphia in 217 B.C. and defeated him there. This victory put Palestine and much of Syria in Egyptian Ptolemaic control.
The king of the North mustered another huge army (11:13) against the new Ptolemy V (203 – 181 B.C.) who came to the throne being only six years old when his father died. At first the king of the North lost to an Egyptian general Scopas at the Battle of Gaza, but he won at the Battle of Paneas/Banias in 200 B.C, where the source of the Jordan River is found. From this time on, the Seleucids held control of Palestine and Syria.
Daniel was also told that “violent men among your own people will rebel” (11:14b), which probably refers to the same incident mentioned by Josephus (Antiq. 12.3.3-4), in which the Jewish people did not take too kindly to the Ptolemaic side, but when the Seleucid factions visited Jerusalem, they were well received as they promised to give the Jews their freedom to live by their own ancestral rules.
Later, in 11:15, the king of the North, Antiochus, captured the city of Sidon to which Scopus and his Egyptian army had retreated after their defeat at Paneas. When the Seleucid siege led to a famine in 198 B.C., the king of the South surrendered. This Egyptian surrender settled finally Antiochus III’s control of Syria and Palestine as Daniel 11:16 affirmed, “He will establish himself in the Beautiful land.”
Because of the growing power of the Romans, Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra for a wife to Ptolemy V (203-181 B.C., 11:17c, “He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.” Whereas he had hoped that she would act as a spy, instead she became loyal to her husband and urged him to make an alliance with Rome.
“He will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them” (11:18), Thus Antiochus took over the Egyptian-held coast of Asia Minor (present –day Turkey) and moved to seize the Macedonian possessions of Thrace. However, “a commander will put an end to his insolence” (11:18b). Antiochus invaded these areas in 192 B.C., but despite warnings from Rome, he proceeded only to be crushed, first at the Battle of Thermopylae, and then at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C. The result was that Antiochus became a vassal of Rome and with heavy indemnity; thus he was left short of honor and funds. Daniel had also predicted that Antiochus would “stumble and fall, to be seen no more” (11:19b), for Antiochus and his men were assassinated by the local people as they tried to rob the temple of Bel in Elymais, Persia, to secure badly needed funds to pay tribute to Rome.
Antiochus III, successor to Antiochus, had two sons; one Antiochus was a hostage in Rome and the other succeeded him as Seleucus IV (187 – 175 B.C.). The story of what happened to Seleucus IV is contained in the apocryphal book of 3 Maccabees . He sent his prime minister Heliodorus to strip the funds in the Jerusalem temple, but he claimed he was prevented from doing so by a divine apparition that almost cost him his life. Seleucus was assassinated in 175 B.C. in a plot hatched by Heliodorus, as Daniel 11:20 had predicted.
D. The Prophecy About the Last King of the South (11:21-35)
Commentators, whether of Jewish, Catholic, or of Protestant stripe, have a good agreement down through verse 20, but from verse 21 onwards there is not that same agreement. The “contemptible person” introduced in verse 21 through verse 35 is identified by a majority of interpreters as Antiochus Epiphanes (meaning “the manifest,” later scornfully nicknamed “Epimanes,” “madman”175-164 B.C.), who is otherwise called the “Little Horn” in chapter 8. Some, such as Keil, think that Antiochus Epiphanes IV is primarily represented in these verses, but typically they also point to the future Antichrist. A better view is that the predictions in verses 21-35 refer directly to Antiochus Epiphanes, but in verses 36 to 45 it directly refers to the Antichrist of the last days.
Antiochus IV’s route to the throne is unclear, but he assumed the throne under the pretense of ruling on behalf of his nephew who had been taken as a hostage to Rome. Following Antiochus III’s policy of allowing the Jews self-government, the High Priest Onias III served as local ruler. But since this priest opposed the influx of hellenization in Judea, Onias’ brother Jason offered the king a huge sum of money as a bribe along with a promise that he would Hellenize Judea. But a Menelaus in 172 B.C., one not from a priestly family, offered an even greater bribe, so he replaced Jason. This seems to be what “a prince of the covenant” (11:22-24) refers to, for Menelaus lured Jason from the temple and murdered him in 171 B.C.
Antiochus IV set out to invade Egypt (11:25), in which he successfully captured Pelusium and Memphis, though not of Alexandria. Antiochus IV made an alliance with Ptolemy VI (181-146 B.C.), but Ptolemy VI was encouraged to attack Palestine; however, this provoked Antiochus IV to attack Egypt. On his way home from Egypt, Antiochus IV raided the temple treasury in Jerusalem.
Egypt appealed to Rome for help (11:30, “Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him and he will lose heart”), and so Antiochus IV was confronted near Alexandria and so he was turned away from Egypt, so he took out his anger on Jerusalem. Antiochus IV made an edict proscribing all Jewish religious practices including the observance of the Sabbath, offering sacrifices, or observing food laws and festivals on pain of death (11:31). He also set up the “abomination that causes desolation” (11:31b), which according to 1 Maccabees 1:54 says that on the 15th of Chislev, 167 B.C., an altar was erected, which seemed to be an idol of the Olympian Zeus.
One Jewish family in particular objected to this sacrilege, a priest named Mattathius and his five children. In particular, Judas Maccabeus (meaning “[the] hammer”) inflicted defeats on the Syrian forces. Three years after the desecration of the temple (December 164 B.C.), Judas regained control of Jerusalem, purified the temple and resumed sacrifices.
E. The Prophecy of the Willful King (11:36-45)
Most interpreters, whether of Amillennial, Postmillennial, or Premillennial background, agree that these final ten verses of chapter 11 point to the general character, person and career of the Antichrist of the end days. The context for this event is in the last days as Daniel 10:14 sets this vision – “the vision concerns a time yet to come.” Moreover, the behavior of “little horn” of Daniel 7:24, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (“the man of lawlessness”), and the “beast” of Revelation 13: 1 is so strikingly similar that these texts must all be speaking of the same king who will appear in the last days,
“He will show no respect for the gods of his fathers… nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all” (Dan 11:37) just as the Beast in Revelation 13:6 opens his mouth “to blaspheme God and to slander his name and his dwelling place.” Indeed, he “will exalt himself above all,” exactly as 2 Thessalonians 2:4 says of the man of lawlessness, who “will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped.”
But this Antichrist will meet his end after a time of success, but then the “time of wrath” will come (11:36, 40, 45), when three great events occur: (1) The great tribulation of Israel, (2) the resurrection of the dead, and (3) the final reward of the righteous (12: 1-3).
This prophecy of the Antichrist shifts from this history of the contemptible personage of Antiochus the IV to the final appearance of Antichrist. Comprehended in the image of the king, who historically was typified in Antiochus Epiphanes, was the prediction of the Antichrist, who would completely fulfill all that was predicted in one prophetic oracle. Since nothing in past history can be identified as corresponding to verses 36-45, it is proper to look to the future for their fulfillment.
III.The Prophecies About Israel at the End of Time (12:1-13)
Some of the predictions about Antichrist are: (1) “He will also invade the beautiful land” (40), which is the land of Israel; (2) There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of the nations until then” (12:1b): and (3) there will be “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth [who] will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (12:2) – a resurrection of two kinds of the dead to two kinds of eternal life.
A. The Great Tribulation (12:1)
This means that Israel will by now have been restored to the land of Palestine that had been promised to them. But Antichrist will seek to destroy Israel as he invades the “glorious land” and as he plants “his royal tents of his palace between the seas (meaning the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea) at the beautiful holy mountain” (45). Despite all this effort, “he will come to his end, and no one will help him” (45b). Further information on this failure of his is explained by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 and by John in Revelation 19:11-21.
This verse describes the conditions of those final days under Antichrist. The references to Israel in 12:1 are real, for there is no reason to transfer these references over to the Church in a type of replacement theology.
B. The Resurrection of the Dead (12:2)
Physical resurrection is taught here in verse 2. Those who spiritualize or symbolize something else than a physical resurrection, miss the meaning of this passage badly. There are two separate resurrections occurring at two different times: one to everlasting life, and the other raised briefly to answer why they have never received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, only to be cast out into hell forever. Thus, two physical resurrections are noted here.
The order of the resurrections is taught in Scripture as follows: (1) Christ was the first one to be raised from the dead physically, (2) those who belong to Christ by faith will be raised in connection with his second coming, and finally (3) all those remaining who have not put their trust in Christ will be raised to face the judgment of the Great White throne at the end of the millennial reign of Christ (1 Cor 15: 22-28; Jh 5:28).
C. The Final Reward of the Just (12:3)
Daniel closes his book with a promise to those who are wise: they “will shine like the brightness of the heavens.” Moreover, “those who lead many to righteousness [will] be like the stars for ever and ever” (3).
D. The Disposition of These Prophetic Words (12:4-13)
As Daniel looked up, there stood two others, one on this bank on this side of the river and the other one on the opposite bank (5). The one clothed in linen said that all these things would be completed in 3 ½ years when the power of the holy people [of Israel] had been broken (7). Daniel was to go on his way, because the words would be fulfilled in their time (9, 13). God would see to that!
Conclusions
1. God has spoken so accurately and with such detail that few have missed what was said about the kings of the north and south. Instead critical scholars have turned this around and said someone claiming to be Daniel wrote this after these events happened.
2. Few passages in the Old Testament are clearer about the resurrection of the righteous being separate from the later resurrection of the unjust. However, all will be resurrected to face the Lord, some to everlasting life and some to eternal torment.
3. The Antichrist is a major figure who will appear in the last days, but his end is sure and sudden.
4. The Lord Jesus is the Lord of all history and knows exactly where it is going.
By Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., PhD
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. website: www.walterckaiserjr.com