Daniel 10. The final three chapters of Daniel are a single encounter, the final episode of Daniel s prophetic life

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1 Daniel 10 The final three chapters f Daniel are a single encunter, the final episde f Daniel s prphetic life We will study them in tw parts The first part takes us thrugh chapter 10, which sets up the scene In additin t Daniel, the chapter intrduces three characters These three characters will cntinue thrugh the three chapters And in this chapter, Daniel is given visin f bth near and distant events cncerning Israel and the Age f the Gentiles Part 1 will cntinue int chapter 11 where we Daniel will receive an explanatin f the near term prphecy Then at a pint in chapter 11, Daniel s visin shifts t an explanatin f the far term prphecy That prphecy deals with events f the very end days It lks ahead t the end f the furth kingdm and t the tumultuus events that cnclude the Age Part 2 cntinues t the end f chapter 12 And at the end, it reveals a fascinating cnnectin t the bk f Revelatin We ll cver part 2 next week Fr nw, let s start with chapter 10 and Daniel s encunter with the first f these three mysterius figures Dan. 10:1 In the third year f Cyrus king f Persia a message was revealed t Daniel, wh was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and ne f great cnflict, but he understd the message and had an understanding f the visin. Dan. 10:2 In thse days, I, Daniel, had been murning fr three entire weeks. Dan. 10:3 I did nt eat any tasty fd, nr did meat r wine enter my muth, nr did I use any intment at all until the entire three weeks were cmpleted Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Daniel 10 2 f 26 Dan. 10:4 On the twenty-furth day f the first mnth, while I was by the bank f the great river, that is, the Tigris, Dan. 10:5 I lifted my eyes and lked, and behld, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whse waist was girded with a belt f pure gld f Uphaz. Dan. 10:6 His bdy als was like beryl, his face had the appearance f lightning, his eyes were like flaming trches, his arms and feet like the gleam f plished brnze, and the sund f his wrds like the sund f a tumult. As he typically des, Daniel dates his visin t the reign f a king This visin came in the third year f Cyrus reign Cyrus was the Persian king wh released Israel t rebuild it s temple in Judah Chapter 9 was set in the first year f this same ruler S chapter 10 fllws tw years later This is the last visin Daniel received as recrded in his bk Daniel is prbably appraching 90 years ld We knw he desn t return t Jerusalem with the exiles S he likely passes away sn after this visin, his wrk as a prphet having been cmpleted Daniel says he received a message f great cnflict The Hebrew wrd fr message is literally the wrd fr speech S Daniel received a speech, a spken message Chapters are his descriptin f what he received and hw it came t him It s a message f cnflict because it describes war between Gentiles and Jews, and between Gd and Satan Daniel pens by telling us he had been murning fr three weeks prir t this mment His perid f murning was similar t fasting thugh technically nt a full fast He avids any fd r drink that represents jy 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Daniel 10 3 f 26 He avided tasty fd, which sunds like he ate airline fd exclusively But the Hebrew wrd fr tasty means desirable, treasured r valuable S he ate nthing that he liked r desired, like meat r wine Instead, he ate nly plain, simple things t sustain himself Daniel s practice was intended t mirrr the feeling f his sul in the dispsitin f his flesh Daniel s sul was anguished, he felt lss and suffering S Daniel sught t bring his sul and bdy int agreement Daniel felt lss and suffering fr Israel Then Daniel gives a reasn fr his murning, thugh the reasn might be hard t see fr a Gentile Daniel says his three week fast ended n the twenty furth day f the first mnth n the Jewish calendar This date is significant fr the Jewish peple On the Jewish calendar, the feasts f Passver and Unleavened Bread take place frm the 14th t the 21st f the first mnth Daniels seems t have murned fr abut 10 days prir t Passver and he cntinued until three days after the feast perid ended Since Daniel gives us such a precise date fr his murning perid it suggests it was cnnected t this feast perid The Passver remembers Israel s freedm frm slavery in Israel And the Feast f Unleavened Bread remembers the exdus ut f the land Fr Israel, this hliday served as an Independence Day celebratin Fr Israel it represented victry ver ppressrs It std fr freedm Mst f all, it remembered Israel Gd defeating the s-called gds f Egypt and the wrld 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Daniel 10 4 f 26 S we might imagine that as that feast apprached, Daniel entered a perid f murning because he knew Israel had many generatins f ppressin still t cme He knew Israel s final exdus victry was a lng way ff In the meantime, the natin wuld endure thusands f years f Gentile ppressin Daniel is murning the weight f Gd s judgment against His wn peple And perhaps he was hping that his murning might mve Gd t alter the plan Instead, the Lrd takes favr upn Daniel by visiting him in an unique way And what fllws in this scene are bth things that cnnect back t previus chapters f Daniel And things that lk frward t the final bk f the Bible, Revelatin Beginning in v.5 with the intrductin f a new character Daniel is standing by the bank f Tigris river, which ran thrugh Babyln And he lks up t see a figure, which Daniel calls a certain man Daniel s descriptin f this man reminds us the ne Daniel saw briefly in chapter 8 suspended ver a river Dan. 8:15 When I, Daniel, had seen the visin, I sught t understand it; and behld, standing befre me was ne wh lked like a man. Dan. 8:16 And I heard the vice f a man between the banks f Ulai, and he called ut and said, Gabriel, give this man an understanding f the visin. In that earlier mment, the Man between the banks called t the angel Gabriel t give Daniel an explanatin f his visins As we ll learn in chapter 12, this Man is als suspended abve the river Tigris Which naturally leads us t cnclude that this Man must be the same Man as the One Daniel saw in chapter Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Daniel 10 5 f 26 This time Daniel prvides a descriptin f the Man, and by Daniel s descriptin, the Man seems t be glwing almst white ht First, His clthing is white linen like the rbe wrn by a priest White implies purity and the utfit f a priest implies an intercessr with Gd His belt was pure gld, which signifies great imprtance and majesty and wuld reflect light like a mirrr Daniel knew the gld s rigin, a place called Uphaz (which is an unknwn place) Furthermre, His bdy is like beryl, which is a transparent, yellw stne that glws when light catches it Then His face is an intense white light like lightening And His eyes lk like faming trches While the rest f His bdy is like plished brnze, which als reflecting light brilliantly Finally, His vice sunded like a tumult, which means many different sunds cmbining tgether at nce The verall effect is that f intense light and glwing reflectins frm every place, cmbined with an intense pwerful sund There is anther place in the Bible where such a Persn is described in a similar fashin Rev. 1:10 I was in the Spirit n the Lrd s day, and I heard behind me a lud vice like the sund f a trumpet, Rev. 1:11 saying, Write in a bk what yu see, and send it t the seven churches: t Ephesus and t Smyrna and t Pergamum and t Thyatira and t Sardis and t Philadelphia and t Ladicea. Rev. 1:12 Then I turned t see the vice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven glden lampstands; Rev. 1:13 and in the middle f the lampstands I saw ne like a sn f man, clthed in a rbe reaching t the feet, and girded acrss His chest with a glden sash. Rev. 1:14 His head and His hair were white like white wl, like snw; and His eyes were like a flame f fire. Rev. 1:15 His feet were like burnished brnze, when it has been made t glw in a furnace, and His vice was like the sund f many waters Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Daniel 10 6 f 26 This is the Apstle Jhn s descriptin Christ s appearance n the island f Patms Immediately we see the similarity In fact, Jhn s descriptin f Jesus varies frm Daniel s nly in terms f the cmparisns made Fr example, Jhn says rbe, while Daniel says linen Jhn says a sash f gld while Daniel says belt f gld Jhn says white like wl while Daniel says like lightening Jhn says a vice f many waters, while Daniel called it a tumult Apart frm these trivial differences, the tw prphets are describing the same Persn appearing in the same way This Man is specifically named t be Christ in Revelatin S based n that descriptin, we must cnclude Daniel saw the preincarnate Christ in chapter 10 This is nt unprecedented in Daniel, since the Angel f the Lrd (Christ) appeared t Daniel s friends in the furnace Here we have the first f several imprtant cnnectins between the bks f Daniel and Revelatin Daniel s bk has been called the Revelatin f the Old Testament fr gd reasn The tw bks are cnnected in several imprtant ways, and nt simply because they address similar end times events The bks are linked in ne especially surprising way, which we cme t see in these three chapters Beginning with this cmmn appearance f Jesus And like Jhn, Daniel is terrified by the appearance f Jesus appearing befre Him 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Daniel 10 7 f 26 Dan. 10:7 Nw I, Daniel, alne saw the visin, while the men wh were with me did nt see the visin; nevertheless, a great dread fell n them, and they ran away t hide themselves. Dan. 10:8 S I was left alne and saw this great visin; yet n strength was left in me, fr my natural clr turned t a deathly pallr, and I retained n strength. Dan. 10:9 But I heard the sund f his wrds; and as sn as I heard the sund f his wrds, I fell int a deep sleep n my face, with my face t the grund. Dan. 10:10 Then behld, a hand tuched me and set me trembling n my hands and knees. Dan. 10:11 He said t me, O Daniel, man f high esteem, understand the wrds that I am abut t tell yu and stand upright, fr I have nw been sent t yu. And when he had spken this wrd t me, I std up trembling. Daniel was apparently accmpanied by thers in this mment, thugh they did nt see what Daniel saw Daniel s experience reminds us f Paul encunter with Jesus n the rad t Damascus Paul saw and heard Jesus thugh his cmpanins did nt In bth cases, the cmpanins were terrified by smething and were remved frm the situatin Fr Daniel the effect f this visin was dread and incapacitatin He physically became like a dead man This is the unifrm experience f sinful human beings when brught int the presence f Gd s hliness It s mre than a mental respnse...it s a physical respnse Literally, ur flesh reacts instinctively t the presence f Gd This is what happened t Adam and Wman in the Garden fllwing their sin They instinctively reacted t Gd s arrival in the Garden by hiding themselves frm His presence The reasn humanity respnds this way t Gd is ur sin, which places us in mrtal jepardy befre a hly and just Gd Even a man as gd as Daniel experiences dread because he was still sinful 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Daniel 10 8 f 26 At this pint, Daniel ges face-dwn t the grund in a cma-like state Nevertheless, Daniel needs t be revived t receive the revelatin f the Lrd S the Lrd sends an angel t revive Daniel and cntinue t cnversatin In v.10, a hand tuches Daniel and brught Daniel nt hands and knees He s still trembling in fear, and wh culd blame him But he s n lnger incapacitated Here we see the essential difference between angelic beings and the Lrd, and with it we see the purpse fr Gd creating angels Angels are Gd s servants created t bridge this gap between fallen men and Gd As Hebrew explains Heb. 1:13 But t which f the angels has He ever said, Sit at My right hand, Until I make Yur enemies A ftstl fr Yur feet? Heb. 1:14 Are they nt all ministering spirits, sent ut t render service fr the sake f thse wh will inherit salvatin? Angels are ministering spirits wh prvide service t Gd n ur behalf They are the messengers sent by Gd t minister t the saints They can interact with men in ways that Gd can t because f ur fallen nature Angels will still illicit strng respnses in men, principally fear Fear is the natural respnse t smething supernatural, much like we are scared by lud nises r large animals But since angels are nt ur judge, we d nt experience a feeling f dread r jepardy 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Daniel 10 9 f 26 Men can wrk with angels withut falling dwn r entering a cma, which is why they are Gd s messengers S the Lrd hands ff the cnversatin t His angel, prbably Gabriel again Hw d we knw that an angel has jined the scene in v.10? First, this pattern matches exactly the last time Daniel encuntered the Man ver the water in chapter 8 Dan. 8:16 And I heard the vice f a man between the banks f Ulai, and he called ut and said, Gabriel, give this man an understanding f the visin. Dan. 8:17 S he came near t where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell n my face; but he said t me, Sn f man, understand that the visin pertains t the time f the end. Dan. 8:18 Nw while he was talking with me, I sank int a deep sleep with my face t the grund; but he tuched me and made me stand upright. The Man Jesus sent Gabriel t bring Daniel the interpretatin And he appraches Daniel in the same way, tuching Daniel t cause him t revive frm a deep sleep and t stand upright Secndly, if we fast-frward t chapter 12, we read this: Dan. 12:5 Then I, Daniel, lked and behld, tw thers were standing, ne n this bank f the river and the ther n that bank f the river. Dan. 12:6 And ne said t the man dressed in linen, wh was abve the waters f the river, Hw lng will it be until the end f these wnders? Chapter 12 is still set in the same mment as chapters 10 & 11 And in that chapter, Daniel reveals that there are a ttal f three characters in this mment In additin t Jesus in linen ver the water, there are tw ther men, ne n each bank f the river That means ne f these men is standing n the same bank as Daniel Once again, we can assume these men are angels in the appearance f men as we saw in chapter Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Daniel f 26 Thirdly, lking ahead t the next sectin f chapter 10, ntice that in v.16 Daniel describes the ne speaking t him Nw Daniel says he is ne resembling a human being This must be a different persn than Christ, since the descriptin f Christ is nthing like a human being This indicates a secnd character entered the scene at v.10 Furthermre, we can als determine the identity f these tw characters by lking at Chapter 10 and 12 again In v.13 the ne speaking t Daniel mentins an angel, Michael, wh assisted him in a battle against an adversary Then later in chapter 12:1 this same character speaks f Michael again in the third persn S it wuld appear the angel speaking t Daniel is Gabriel, the same angel that spke t Daniel in chapter 9 And the ther character n the far side f the bank is Michael, wh apparently isn t much fr speaking S cntinuing aheads with that cnclusin, Gabriel has tuched Daniel and Daniel is nw n his hands and knees Frm this pint in v.11 Gabriel tells Daniel that he is a man f high esteem as Gabriel said in chapter 9 Daniel is esteemed in the sense that He has received a great measure f Gd s grace And then by his faithfulness and devtin t beying Gd, Daniel has cmmended himself With that, the angel directs Daniel t stand upright s he can receive a revelatin f Gd by way f this messenger And s Daniel mved t his feet and is nw standing Thugh he s still trembling Which f curse prmpts the custmary angelic greeting 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Daniel f 26 Dan. 10:12 Then he said t me, D nt be afraid, Daniel, fr frm the first day that yu set yur heart n understanding this and n humbling yurself befre yur Gd, yur wrds were heard, and I have cme in respnse t yur wrds. Dan. 10:13 But the prince f the kingdm f Persia was withstanding me fr twenty-ne days; then behld, Michael, ne f the chief princes, came t help me, fr I had been left there with the kings f Persia. Gabriel tells Daniel he need nt fear Gabriel, because Gabriel is an answer t prayer The angel came in respnse t Daniel s wrds That prayer was prbably ne Daniel prayed at the start f his 21-day fast This is the secnd time Gabriel has been dispatched in respnse t Daniel s prayer That s a pretty pwerful testimny t Daniel s prayer life But in this case, Daniel cntinued fasting fr three weeks because Gabriel was ccupied fr that time in withstanding an enemy Based n what Gabriel tells Daniel, we can surmise Daniel was praying fr understanding cncerning his trubling visins In earlier chapters, Daniel had received terrifying visins abut Israel s future They were a burden fr Daniel, and s he sught divine interventin S he entered a perid f murning and fasting waiting fr an answer It seems he wuld have had it earlier, but the angelic realm was a little busy Gabriel s wrds cnfirm that angels are bund by space and time as is every created thing A day fr an angel is the same as a day fr us And they must travel t and fr...they can t be in all places at the same time 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Daniel f 26 Secndly, the pwer f the angelic realm perates within bundaries set by the Lrd In this case, the Lrd didn t permit Gabriel t prevail nr did he permit Michael t relieve Gabriel until the time was right S it appears the Lrd wanted this delay fr Daniel That s an encuragement fr all us t remember that the Lrd may cause us t wait fr a time Gd answers ur prayers n His timetable and accrding t His plan s He may accmplish greater gd S why was Gabriel busy fr thse three weeks? Gabriel says that the prince f the kingdm f Persia was withstanding Gabriel A prince is the Bible s term fr a spiritual actr, usually an angelic being We see in that same verse that Michael is called ne f the chief princes, meaning ne f the archangels We knw Gabriel is anther archangel, s he t wuld be a chief prince In chapter 9 the antichrist was called a prince because he will be indwelled by Satan, wh is a fallen angelic being S then wh is the prince f the kingdm f Persia? Well, he is an angelic being And he ppses Gabriel, s he must be an adversary f Gd s heavenly hst, which means he is a demn And he has a special respnsibility fr Persia This statement suggests that demns may have respnsibilities assigned by Satan fr wrking in varius kingdms r regins n earth In this case, perhaps the prince f Persia is n less than Satan himself, Persia includes the regin f Babyln, which has been Satan s backyard since Eden But that seems unlikely because f smething we read in Jude 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Daniel f 26 Jude 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued abut the bdy f Mses, did nt dare prnunce against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lrd rebuke yu! In Jude we learn that Satan sught Mses bdy, prbably t resurrect it by indwelling it s He culd deceive Israel The archangel Michael intervened t stp Satan, but because Satan is a superir angelic being, Michael didn t dare rebuke Satan Instead, Michael asked the Lrd t rebuke Satan Yet in Daniel 10 we read that Gabriel held ff this prince f Persia fr 21 days (3 X 7) It seems unlikely that the angel Gabriel culd withstand Satan fr 3 weeks if Michael culd even rebuke Satan The mre likely cnclusin is that this prince f Persia is a pwerful demn, perhaps Satan s righthand agent Satan assigned this demn t Persia since this is Satan s mst precius territry n earth And Gabriel and Michael battled this demn t stp him in his evil plans fr the regin This wuld als explain why the Middle East and the Arab natins f the wrld have histrically been such dangerus places fr Jews and Christians Many missinaries can testify t the special spiritual darkness and persecutin they experience when wrking in these lands The demnic cntrl f this regin is far mre prnunced and pernicius than in ther places And nt cincidentally, this regin is the surce f Islam, ne f the mst destructive religius systems in the wrld Yet Satan s pwer is never equal t Gd s, and s we see the Lrd mving tday in pwerful ways t bring light int this darkness Which means that when angels battle Satan r his agents, these battles are accrding t Gd s purpses He allws the battles as they serve sme greater purpse 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Daniel f 26 Think f the evil wrk f Satan s frces like water rushing dwnhill Bth have great destructive pwer But if that pwer is channelled and directed, it can be put t wrk Gd uses His angels t channel and direct Satan s evil desires t prduce gd utcmes fr Gd s peple Finally, what was the nature f the cnflict between Gabriel, Michael and the demn f Persia? Based n a clue inside the text plus a little histry, we can guess at the answer At the end f v.13 Gabriel says he had been left with the kings f Persia Kings refers t human rulers ver the regin f Persia These men seem t be the fcus f the angelic cnflict The demn seemed intent n using these men t further sme evil purpse While Gabriel and Michael were intent n resisting the demn t prevent his success And we knw this is happening shrtly after the the exiles have returned t the land t rebuild the temple And in Ezra we read f hw the pwerful rules f surrunding natins were ppsing Israel s wrk in the land Ezra 4:4 Then the peple f the land discuraged the peple f Judah, and frightened them frm building, Ezra 4:5 and hired cunselrs against them t frustrate their cunsel all the days f Cyrus king f Persia, even until the reign f Darius king f Persia. Ntice the peple f the land were resisting Israel s rebuilding Perhaps these were the nes under the influence f the demn Or perhaps this battle was ver smething that we never experienced n earth because Gabriel and Michael prevented it 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Daniel f 26 The enemy is ften seeking t d evil that never materializes n earth and the angelic realm battles t keep us ut f harm If yu ve ever wndered why Satan desn t wreck even mre havc n earth, it seems we have the angelic realm t thank As Paul says Eph. 6:12 Fr ur struggle is nt against flesh and bld, but against the rulers, against the pwers, against the wrld frces f this darkness, against the spiritual frces f wickedness in the heavenly places. Then the angel gets dwn t business Dan. 10:14 Nw I have cme t give yu an understanding f what will happen t yur peple in the latter days, fr the visin pertains t the days yet future. Dan. 10:15 When he had spken t me accrding t these wrds, I turned my face tward the grund and became speechless. Dan. 10:16 And behld, ne wh resembled a human being was tuching my lips; then I pened my muth and spke and said t him wh was standing befre me, O my lrd, as a result f the visin anguish has cme upn me, and I have retained n strength. Dan. 10:17 Fr hw can such a servant f my lrd talk with such as my lrd? As fr me, there remains just nw n strength in me, nr has any breath been left in me. Dan. 10:18 Then this ne with human appearance tuched me again and strengthened me. Dan. 10:19 He said, O man f high esteem, d nt be afraid. Peace be with yu; take curage and be curageus! Nw as sn as he spke t me, I received strength and said, May my lrd speak, fr yu have strengthened me. In answer t Daniel s prayer, Gabriel is prepared t give Daniel the answer t his questins cncerning the visins he has seen The mentin f these visins sucks the life ut f Daniel again Once again Daniel heads t the grund He becmes speechless Remember, these visins are things the Lrd has imprinted n Daniel s mind They are like cming attractins f events that will transpire n Earth 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Daniel f 26 They are things f the Age f the Gentiles, f times when Israel will be ppressed by Gentiles They are truly hrrible things that Gd will permit because f the weight f Israel ffenses under the Old Cvenant And it s a sign t us f hw terrible these things will be that even a visin f them is enugh t cause Daniel t faint and nt even have strength enugh t speak Ntice he is literally speechless He can t talk, s the angel tuches his lips in v.16 t strengthen Daniel s muth t speak again And with that renewed strength, Daniel then starts talking again Daniel then asks the angel hw culd he talk with my lrd First, the term lrd is simple a generic title f respect It s what smene says t a superir Secndly, Daniel is asking hw he culd be expected t cntinue in this cnversatin since the visin have rbbed him f his stamina Ntice he adds that there is n strength in him and he can t even catch his breath Daniel is literally exhausted just frm the memry f these visins Later we learn that Daniel is having visins f varius calamities, including events in Tribulatin If just a visin f tribulatin brings a man t his knees, what will the real think be like? And what must Hell itself be like? In respnse t Daniel s questin, Gabriel tuched Daniel again t give him greater strength This is anther typical functin f angels Angels bring strength t men in the midst f a difficult spiritual battle We see the same thing happening t Elijah in 1Kings Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Daniel f 26 And even Jesus receives this ministry frm angels when He fasted fr 40 days in the desert Gabriel tells Daniel t be strng and curageus because there is prphetic wrk t d Having been supernaturally revived, Daniel says let s g Tell me what I need t hear Befre beginning the revelatin, the angel asks Daniel if he understanding why Gabriel has cme t him nw? Dan. 10:20 Then he said, D yu understand why I came t yu? But I shall nw return t fight against the prince f Persia; s I am ging frth, and behld, the prince f Greece is abut t cme. Dan. 10:21 Hwever, I will tell yu what is inscribed in the writing f truth. Yet there is n ne wh stands firmly with me against these frces except Michael yur prince. Earlier Gabriel said he was fighting a demn f Persia fr three weeks Nw Gabriel has brken away fr Daniel s sake But he can nly affrd t be here a shrt time because he says he has t return t the battle And I dn t have a large army...i nly have Michael standing with me And we already saw that it takes bth us t withstand this demn Furthermre, a new demn is abut t arise t further the purpses f the next Gentile Kingdm within the Age f Gentiles S his questin t Daniel is really d yu see hw imprtant this revelatin is? It s s imprtant that it necessitated an archangel leaving an imprtant pst at great risk t explain it persnally It cmes at a crucial time and there are imprtant things abut t happen yu need t recrd S he says in v.21 I m here t tell yu what yu must inscribed in scripture 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Daniel f 26 And what Gabriel gives Daniel frms chapters It s an explanatin f things Daniel has seen in visins Everything in Daniel s visins takes place lng after Daniel is passed But sme details are fulfilled within a few hundred years f Daniel s life While ther events have yet t be fulfilled S Gabriel s speech begins in chapter 11 Dan. 11:1 In the first year f Darius the Mede, I arse t be an encuragement and a prtectin fr him. Dan. 11:2 And nw I will tell yu the truth. Behld, three mre kings are ging t arise in Persia. Then a furth will gain far mre riches than all f them; as sn as he becmes strng thrugh his riches, he will aruse the whle empire against the realm f Greece. Dan. 11:3 And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authrity and d as he pleases. Dan. 11:4 But as sn as he has arisen, his kingdm will be brken up and parceled ut tward the fur pints f the cmpass, thugh nt t his wn descendants, nr accrding t his authrity which he wielded, fr his svereignty will be uprted and given t thers besides them. The chapter pens with a verse that is actually the final verse f chapter 10 Daniel typically started new sectins with the reign f a king S the men wh cnstructed ur cann placed this verse at the start f chapter 11 in keeping with that pattern But it s misleading, because we read v.1 in Gabriel s vice, nt Daniel s vice S the angel is telling Daniel that he has been wrking with the first king f Persia frm the start f his reign t supprt the peple f Israel As a result f his wrk, the king f Persia had issued the decree t release Israel And nw tw years later he s still at wrk fr the needs f Israel But that wrk has a timeline and many things must cme t pass befre the timeline is cmplete 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Daniel f 26 Gabriel s explanatin includes near term and far term events Bth events take place in the Age f Gentiles and are related t Christ The near term events are related t Christ s first cming While the far term events will be related t Christ s secnd cming In that sense, the tw sets f events are themselves related The earlier events serve as a picture f the later nes Then Gabriel mves t the first part f his explanatin First, he tells Daniel that there will be fur mre kings ver Persia Histry cnfirms this prphecy The fur kings were Cambyses, Pseud-Smerdis, and Darius I (a different Darius), and Xerxes I Gabriel says the furth king will have the greatest wealth and pwer, and again histry agrees Xerxes became s pwerful that he decided he culd cnquer a grwing adversary in the West, Greece Accrding t the Greek histrian, Herdtus, Xerxes assembled an army f a millin men t attack Greece They cnquered virtually all Greece including burning Athens t the grund But he was defeated in a famus navel battle and was frced t retreat But his incursin laid the grundwrk fr the rise f Alexander the Great In v.3 Gabriel mves t the third kingdm f Greece, speaking f Alexander the Great as a mighty king wh des as he pleases But as sn as he has ascended, his kingdm is brken int pieces Again, this is an undeniable reference t Alexander the Great s premature death and the divisin f his kingdm int 4 parts He had n descendants, s his kingdm is given t thers 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Daniel f 26 This part f the prphecy just gives us cntext, as des the next Dan. 11:5 Then the king f the Suth will grw strng, alng with ne f his princes wh will gain ascendancy ver him and btain dminin; his dmain will be a great dminin indeed. Dan. 11:6 After sme years they will frm an alliance, and the daughter f the king f the Suth will cme t the king f the Nrth t carry ut a peaceful arrangement. But she will nt retain her psitin f pwer, nr will he remain with his pwer, but she will be given up, alng with thse wh brught her in and the ne wh sired her as well as he wh supprted her in thse times. Dan. 11:7 But ne f the descendants f her line will arise in his place, and he will cme against their army and enter the frtress f the king f the Nrth, and he will deal with them and display great strength. Dan. 11:8 Als their gds with their metal images and their precius vessels f silver and gld he will take int captivity t Egypt, and he n his part will refrain frm attacking the king f the Nrth fr sme years. Dan. 11:9 Then the latter will enter the realm f the king f the Suth, but will return t his wn land. The next sectin f the chapter runs until v.20, and it details the cnflict that will take place between tw f the fur pieces f Alexander s kingdm Specifically, Gabriel explains hw the Ptlemy and Seleucid kingdms battle each ther The Ptlemaic kingdm ccupied present-day Syria int nrthern Judea and extended east as far as India The Seleucid Empire ccupied Egypt and extended up int suthern Judea Which meant that the brder separating these tw pwer empires ran right thrugh the middle f Israel S naturally, as these tw empires fught back and frth fr cntrl, the frnt lines was Israel Daniel calls the Ptlemaic kingdm the king f the Nrth And he calls the Seleucid kingdm the king f the Suth They are nrth and suth relative t an bserver standing in Jerusalem 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Daniel f 26 This is a clear fulfillment f Jesus wrds that the Age f the Gentiles wuld be a time f trampling f Jerusalem by Gentiles What fllws is a histry f these tw pwers, which we can address in summary since it s merely backdrp fr mre imprtant matters First in v.5 Ptlemy I Ster, the king f the suth, wh was a general under Alexander, decided t make himself king r pharah ver Egypt He had been assigned the territry as a gvernr But nw he decided he didn t need t answer t anyne He called himself pharah t gain acceptance frm the Egyptian ppulatin Meanwhile, anther ex-alexandrian general, Seleucus I Nicatr, the king f the nrth, rse t pwer ver Babyln Seleucus I Nicatr was frced t defend Babyln against a third f Alexander s generals, the apprpriately-names Antignus With Antignus threatening t take ver Babyln, Seleucus I Nicatr sught assistance frm Ptlemy I Ster Because he asked Ptlemy I Ster fr help, Seleucus I Nicatr became his prince as Gabriel says in v.5 S effectively, Ptlemy I Ster nw had pwer ver Babyln as well Then as Gabriel mentins, sme years pass and then new events take place Eventually, these tw men die and their thrnes are inherited by their sns and then later by their grandsns Eventually, we have Ptlemy II ruling in the suth and Antichus II ruling in the nrth These tw were bitter enemies, but in 250 BC they decided t bury the hatchet thrugh marriage Ptlemy II s daughter wuld marry Antichus II, wh had divrced his wife, Ladicea, in rder t take Ptlemy s daughter When Ptlemy II died, Antichus decided t take back his first wife 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Daniel f 26 Once Ladicea was back in favr, she had the new wife, Berenice killed alng with her infant sn And just fr gd measure, she pisned her husband and tried t rule in his place (Hell hath n fury like a wman scrned) Eventually, her sn, Seleucus II succeeded his father in the Nrth These are the events described in v.6 Later Berenice s brther, Ptlemy III came pwer in the Suth and determined t avenge her death in the Nrth He launched an attack against Seleucus II The battle tk place in Syria at Antch He succeeded in killing Ladicea And he gained cntrl f much f the nrthern kingdm s territry and held it until his death These are the events f v.7 After his cnquest f the Nrth, Ptlemy III returned t Egypt bringing spil frm the way Amng the things he brught were religius artifacts frm Syria These are the things mentined in v.8 Apparently, Seleucus II later cunter attacked by trying t invade Egypt, but the attack was unsuccessful Cntinuing frward This campaign is nt recrded in histry apart frm the Bible We knw f it nly frm v.9 Dan. 11:10 His sns will mbilize and assemble a multitude f great frces; and ne f them will keep n cming and verflw and pass thrugh, that he may again wage war up t his very frtress. Dan. 11:11 The king f the Suth will be enraged and g frth and fight with the king f the Nrth. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given int the hand f the frmer Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Daniel f 26 Dan. 11:12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens f thusands t fall; yet he will nt prevail. Dan. 11:13 Fr the king f the Nrth will again raise a greater multitude than the frmer, and after an interval f sme years he will press n with a great army and much equipment. Dan. 11:14 Nw in thse times many will rise up against the king f the Suth; the vilent nes amng yur peple will als lift themselves up in rder t fulfill the visin, but they will fall dwn. Eventually, Seleucus II dies and he is succeeded by his sn Seleucus III, wh dies quickly, and is succeeded by his brther, Antichus III the Great These sns f Seleucus II sught t restre the glry f Syria lst t the Ptlemaic kings S each attacked Egypt during his reign Eventually, the Seleucids succeeded in driving the Ptlemaic Egyptians back int the Sinai These battles are described in vs.10 As a result, Ptlemy IV Philpatr attacks Antichus III at the new brder in Suthern Israel His attack was devastating, and he destryed Antichus III s army But Antichus regruped and stpped the advance In the end, Ptlemy IV Philpatr recaptured just Palestine This campaign is described in vs Antichus will direct his military effrts in ther directins fr a while, rebuilding his frces against lessr adversaries But eventually he returns t battle the Ptlemaic kingdm He succeeds in retaking Palestine in 203 BC This attack is described in v.13 T this pint, yu shuld have nticed that the back and frth battle has centered n Israel 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

24 Daniel f 26 The Jewish peple have been tssed t and fr with each new campaign In this case, as Antichus III entered the land again, the peple f Israel sided with him They ppsed the Egyptians f the Ptlemaic kingdm and helped Antichus repel them This uprising f the many f Israel against the king f Suth is recrded in v.14 And s the campaigns cntinue Dan. 11:15 Then the king f the Nrth will cme, cast up a siege ramp and capture a wellfrtified city; and the frces f the Suth will nt stand their grund, nt even their chicest trps, fr there will be n strength t make a stand. Dan. 11:16 But he wh cmes against him will d as he pleases, and n ne will be able t withstand him; he will als stay fr a time in the Beautiful Land, with destructin in his hand. Dan. 11:17 He will set his face t cme with the pwer f his whle kingdm, bringing with him a prpsal f peace which he will put int effect; he will als give him the daughter f wmen t ruin it. But she will nt take a stand fr him r be n his side. Dan. 11:18 Then he will turn his face t the castlands and capture many. But a cmmander will put a stp t his scrn against him; mrever, he will repay him fr his scrn. Dan. 11:19 S he will turn his face tward the frtresses f his wn land, but he will stumble and fall and be fund n mre. Dan. 11:20 Then in his place ne will arise wh will send an ppressr thrugh the Jewel f his kingdm; yet within a few days he will be shattered, thugh nt in anger nr in battle. In this battle, Antichus III besieged the cstal city f Sidn in nrthern Palestine When he defeated that city, he captured a key general, General Scpas, and his elite trps This event is recrded in v.15 This was the final strnghld f the Egyptians in Palestine s as it fell, it meant that the Seleucids had regained cmplete cntl Antichus III nw had the Beautiful Land f Israel t himself 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

25 Daniel f 26 These are the events f v.16 But meanwhile, a threat frm a new enemy was rising in the west Rme was gaining pwer and threatening t take ver the wrld S Antichus II initiated peace with Egypt He ffered his daughter, Clepatra, as a wife t Ptlemy V He hped his daughter wuld secretly remain lyal t the Seleucid Empire in the nrth Instead, she became lyal t hew new Egyptian husband These events are recrded in v.17 Meanwhile, Antichus III struck Rme in Asia Minr hping t frestall their advance A rman cmmander succeeded in defended the cast frm Antichus III That cmmander is the ne mentined in v.18 Antichus III returns t his hme and dies sn thereafter, having freseen the rise f Rme and the eventual lss f his kingdm These events are given in v.19 Antichus Sn, Seleucus IV, succeeds his father and has t submit t Rman authrity Rme requires taxes frm the Nrthern Kingdm, s Seleucus IV taxes his peple, including the Jews, greatly He assigns a Jewish man named Helidrus t cllect tax in Judea Helidrus ges thrughut the land cmmanding taxes be paid, and bviusly, he makes n friends Eventually Helidrus decides he must act against the king r else be killed by his wn peple During a return visit t Syria, Helidrus pisns Seleucus IV and kills him 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

26 Daniel f 26 His situatin is addressed in v.20 This murder f the king by a Jew sets the stage fr intense Jewish persecutin And that persecutin leads us int the next part f this chapter, which is the main thrust f the near-term prphecy In fact, all the histry we ve cvered t his pint was prvided as backgrund t what cmes next Frm vs a particularly despicable man takes center stage His explits against Israel becme legendary And he himself becmes a picture f anther infamus histrical figure We will cver this figure and the ne he pictures next week as we cnclude this chapter And we will als cver chapter Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.