Daniel 11

Let’s continue on with our series on Daniel. First let’s again recall some  key notes so far.

We have learned the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue. The ancient civilisations of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome impress man with their value and strength just like the gold, silver, bronze and iron of the statue. However we learned that Heaven has an opposite perspective on these same 4 empires. Instead the 4 empires are inhumane Beasts. They get more grotesque and fearsome as history progresses.

We discovered that the ancient Babylonian harlot religion described in Revelation 17 has never gone away. Incredibly, the ancient throne of Satan mentioned in the letter to the Pergamon church was moved to a museum in Berlin in 1930 and was an inspiration for Adolf Hitler and even though Hitler was defeated, 

a one world religion of tolerance is emerging in our lifetimes and this should be another warning to us to get ready for the soon return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah had prophesied that the Jews would go into captivity for 70 years. This was fulfilled in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar. Then in 539 BC the empire of Babylon came to an end when the Medes and Persians invaded the city of Babylon and killed Nebuchadnezzar’s son Belshazzar. Daniel remembered the prophecy of 70 years captivity and realised that the 70 years were coming to an end. He began to seek the Lord, confessing his sin and the sins of his people and was given a vision. An Angel explained that there would be 70 weeks until a sixfold purpose of God was completed and this would begin at the command to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 BC about 90 years after Daniel’s lifetime.

Last time we learned how the 70 year captivity came to an end in 535 BC when King Cyrus issued an edict for the Jews to go home to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple exactly as prophesied by Jeremiah.

Today we look at Chapter 11 which is one of the most detailed and accurately fulfilled chapters on the Bible. 

The time predicted in Daniel 11 took place during the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. There were no canonical books written during this period, but the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees record the history of the time period. You’ll find that history in the Catholic Bible. 

The information in Daniel 11 is so accurate that secular scholars posit that it is prophecy ex eventu, that is, prophecy “after the fact,” which would not really be prophecy at all.

However, the critics can’t provide one single piece of evidence that it was written after the events took place. Archaeology, manuscript, the integrity of the script shows that it was written before the events took place, which proves the inspiration of scripture. No wonder the Devil doesn’t want the world to know the truth! The Bible has been proven many times to be historically accurate, we can rely on the truth of Scripture.

Daniel 11:1-2

“Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

The 1st year of Darius the Mede was 539 BC when Babylon fell.

The 4th king mentioned in this passage was King Xerxes the Great who was born after Daniel had died in 518 BC. He was a Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Persian Empire reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. Xerxes was a firm believer in Ahura Mazda whom he saw as the supreme deity. I wondered if that’s where the Japanese car company got its name from and in fact it does ! 

From the company’s official website it says 

“Mazda” comes from Ahura Mazda, the god of harmony, intelligence and wisdom from the earliest civilization in West Asia. Key members of Toyo Kogyo interpreted Mazda as a symbol of the beginning of the East and the West civilization, but also a symbol of the automotive civilization and culture. Striving to make a contribution to the world peace and to be a light in the automotive industry, Toyo Kogyo was renamed Mazda Motor Corporation.

As we have learned throughout our series on Daniel, the gods of ancient Babylon still influence the world today.

In Western history, King Xerxes the Great is best known for his invasion of Greece in 480 BC, which ended in retreat and ultimately defeat.

Daniel 11:3-4

Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

V3 mentions a mighty king whose kingdom is divided after his death. All scholars agree that Alexander the Great of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon was the mighty king. He succeeded his father to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Asia and Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. 

When Alexander the Great arrived at Jerusalem on his military campaign, he was shown the book of Daniel by the High Priest who he’d seen in a vision. Alexander the Great was apparently so impressed that he was foretold in Daniel 11 that he left the Jews alone and didn’t trouble them.

Alexander the Great was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Due to the demand of his homesick troops, he eventually turned back and later died of malaria in 323 BC in Babylon. After his death, he had no heirs who could take on the Kingdom that is what it means when it says not among his posterity. 

So the Greek Empire was divided among his four generals - Ptolemy, Cassander, Seleucus and Antigones - exactly as Daniel 11 had prophesied.

Alexander the Great had planned to establish Babylon as his empire's capital. Big mistake. God had already ended the Babylonian Empire over 200 years before. You can’t overrule God no matter how big your boots.

Any individual or power that opposes God’s purpose will ultimately be defeated. The Persian and Greek Empires were 2 empires that attempted genocide of the Jews. Persia through Haman and Greece through Antiochus Epiphanes who we’ll learn about today. Any country that comes against Israel will be defeated by God. The Nazis were the last, Islam could well be the next.

Though he was a great in Man’s view, there’s very little reference to Alexander the Great in the Bible.

Much of the rest of Chapter 11 is playing our between the descendants of Seleucus, the King of the North and Ptolemy, the King of the South.

Ptolemy, the King of the South took an area to the south of Israel that included Egypt. Seleucis, the King of the North, took control of an area to the north of Israel that included Syria. Daniel 11 covers hundreds of years, so the kings of the North and South are not single individuals; rather, they are the rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty (headquartered in Egypt) and the Seleucid dynasty (headquartered in Syria). These two dynasties were antagonistic toward each other, and Israel was caught in the middle.

Here are some key terms to remember:

• King of the North = the Seleucid dynasty = then Syria, which included several kings with the name Antiochus. Antioch was the capital of the Seleucid Empire from 240 BC until 63 BC when the Romans took control reigned over by the King of the North. It was at Antioch that believers were first called Christians.
• King of the South = the Ptolemaic dynasty = then Egypt

For more on the  the fulfilment of Daniel 11 up to v39 go to www.gotquestions.org and type “King of the North” and “King of the South”

Who is the king of the North in Daniel 11? 

Daniel 11:21-24

And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.

V21-35 prophesy about Antiochus Epiphanes, the “he” referred to are the actions of Antiochus as the King of the North.

Antiochus Epiphanes was born in 215 BC and ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC.

Although he took the name Epiphanes (“God manifest”), the Jews had a play on words and called him “Epimanes” (“madman”).

Daniel 11:25-28

“He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.

Antiochus invaded Egypt in 169 BC. The young and inexperienced king of Egypt, relying on unsuitable advisors, was defeated. In negotiations, neither king was honorable. Antiochus left Egypt the victor. On his way home, he looted the temple in Jerusalem, stationed a garrison there, and defiled the temple by sacrificing unclean animals. 

Daniel 11:29-35

“At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. “So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

This passage tells us of someone who would stop the daily sacrifices and put there instead the abomination of desolation. 

Antiochus Epiphanes captured Jerusalem in 167 BC, stopped the sacrifices and desecrated the Temple by offering the sacrifice of a pig on an altar to Zeus.

However, this cannot be the same abomination of desolation that Jesus referred to later in Matthew 24 when answering the disciples questions about the signs for the end of the age because Jesus was speaking of the future not the past.

When v35 says «until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.», it indicates that after this abomination of desolation, there is another at the appointed time at the end.

You can read more about the Jewish revolt against Antiochus in the 2nd Book of Maccabees mentioned earlier. Every year the Jews remember this when they celebrate Hanukkah which usually falls in December.

V36 signals a shift. This King of the North sounds a lot like the little horn described in chapters 7 & 8 of Daniel, magnifying himself above every god and blaspheming against the god of Gods. 

Daniel 11:36-39

“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 

It is often taught that the coming Antichrist will be a Jew (because he will have no regard for the God of his fathers -capital G) and a homosexual because he will have no regard for the desire of women. It was also every Jewish woman’s desire to be the mother of the Messiah, so this would back up the claim. However, there is also a good argument that this Antichrist will be a Muslim who has no regard for the god of his fathers. Instead, he honours the god of fortresses.

But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

Many Bible scholars say the god of fortresses is Zeus. Zeus was the highest god of Ancient Greece, his equivalent was Jupiter from Ancient Rome. If they are correct then that would align awith v39 because Rome did divide up the land (i.e Israel) for gain.

However V40 makes it clear that it is speaking of end times separating ancient history from the end times. Knowing what Jesus said about a future abomination of desolation and all that Daniel had written in the previous chapters, it seems more likely that the there will be a future King of the North who is the Antichrist and he will commit an abomination of desolation that will be like what Antiochus did. 

Daniel 11:40-45

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 

So we should expect that in the future, this final King of the North shall be attacked by the King of the South (which under Ptolemy was centred in Egypt) but he shall utterly defeat them with his vast army and navy. He shall invade the Glorious Land which is Israel. The ancient areas of Edom, Moab and Ammon escape. This is basically Jordan today.

He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

News from the East and North will trouble the King of the North.  This would indicate trouble in Asia and Europe and the King of the North will turn his military might on those areas next. At the moment when the Antichrist does this, we know from Daniel and other Scripture that Christ comes and defeats him with the breath of his mouth and throws him in the Lake of Fire and as it says, no one will help him.

Satan is a loser, don’t think for a moment he has a chance. The future is already determined. Make sure you are on the winning side. Trust the Lord today. Jesus is the Lord Almighty. Your future will be secure forever. Amen!