The devil hates this chapter! So does Bible critics. Every commentary on this chapter speaks of just how remarkable the prophecies contained in it are. Still, if you are not interested in history (from our perspective), this study could be a bit boring. I want to remind you of something I have said at other times in this study: fulfilled prophecy is one of the major ways we know that the Bible is more than just a well-intentioned book written by men. That this chapter is so specific and so accurate proves once and for all that this is the infallible, perfect, and pure Word from the Throne of God Himself! In the first 35 verses alone, we have some 135 prophecies fulfilled You know what s interesting? It seems that no one understands this very thing as well as the devil! No wonder there have been (and continues to be) attacks on the veracity of this specific book. The devil understands what even many professing- Christians fail to that if God told the future with absolute precision, getting every detail right, that only a fool would refuse to believe. There are a lot of fools living today some of them pretending to belong to the Lord. Let s dig in Dan 11:1-45; 1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) The angel (from ch.10) is telling 1
him that he was there when the kingdom changed from Babylon to Medo-Persia. God is involved in every earthly empire Now, the future 2 "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece (some 200 years in the future). The first 2 verses deal with Persia s future. The 4 kings who would rule in Persia in the future (from Daniel s perspective) were Cambyses (529-522 BC), Pseudo-Smerdis (522-521), Darius I (521-486), and the 4 th, richer king was Xerxes (of the Book of Esther; 496-465) Cambyses was the son of Cyrus the Great we have spoken about him in previous studies. There are some who identify him with the king mentioned in Ezra 4:6. The NIV identifies that man as Artaxerxes but that is unclear and improbable. But Ahasuerus (KJV, NKJV) was a title rather than a name and some scholars believe Cambyses is the man. No way to know for sure. History (sketchy) shows that he was a drunk and a man of 2
uncontrolled passion. He is said to have married his own sisters (plural) a custom that was not at all unusual in ancient Persia. His passion was to conquer Egypt and regain the land that Nebuchadnezzar had earlier controlled Pseudo-Smerdis is an interesting story. Cambyses had a brother, an heir to the throne, named Smerdis and killed him because he didn t want the competition. One of the leading Persian princes led an insurrection against Cambyses and was successful; this is why historians call him Pseudo-Smerdis an imposter, a fill-in. As is always the case with imposters, their reign is short-lived he was king for less than a full year Darius I is rather un-noteworthy. The important king mentioned here, the rich one, is Xerxes who causes all sorts of trouble with Greece and its ruler (next). Xerxes ruled a vast empire that reached from Ethiopia to India. His passion (wealth never satisfies) was to conquer Greece but, as we noted when we studied Esther, he failed miserably in his attempt to do so. He came home a defeated, bitter man whose life was taken by assassination in 465 BC A king of epic-proportions comes next 3
3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. This is, of course, Alexander the Great, one of the most fascinating figures in all of human history. I need to be careful here because I love studying his life and I don t want to get carried away with information that has no value for our Christian lives. Daniel already knew about Alexander (vision of chs.2, 7, 8) although he knew nothing of Alexander the man I remind you that his great power, the ability to do as he pleases, was a result of the lightning-like ability his armies had to strike down their enemies by surprise. I also want to remind you that this is the man God used to invent (imagine how brilliant he had to be) a language that God could use to write the NT a book not even thought of in Daniel s time. Alexander had that rare combination of intellect and ego he wanted to conquer the world and knew he would need a unifying language. What he didn t know was that the language was for God s benefit, not his 4 After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the 4
power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others. Another of God s plans for Alexander was that, as his soldiers spread out over the earth, they would inter-marry with the Oriental (middle-eastern) women of the lands they conquered. This served two purposes: 1 st, the race of people that hated Jews the most would be diluted by Greek influence. 2 nd, the melting-pot people produced by these marriages would assist greatly hundreds of years later in the spread of the gospel message! God s plan is pretty impressive 5 "The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger (remember, written more than 100 years before it happens) than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. The new kings we are introduced to in these verses (through v20) are Egypt south and Syria north. Israel, of course, was caught in the middle of those two nations; that s why they are important and why their history is told in advance Again, it is not my intent to bore you with details. But if you have any doubt at all about the veracity of your Bible, check out the actual events in history with what Daniel was told hundreds of 5
years before they happened. The king of the north was a man named Ptolemy I. His strong commander (the stronger of the two) was Seleucus I 6 After some years (they would fight over the land of Israel for 130 years! The stronger of the two always maintained control. Future references to Ptolemy and Seleucus are references to their family dynasties ), they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. It was common in ancient times for a king to give his daughter in marriage as a sign of peace, to forge an alliance with another nation. This was what happened and an alliance between Ptolemy II and Antiochus II was forged It was not without problems, however. Ptolemy demanded that Antiochus divorce his current wife, a woman named Laodice, in order for the merger to occur. Antiochus married Berenice. Obviously, Laodice would be upset though she 6
could do nothing about it. Here s the problem: Ptolemy died just 2 years later and Antiochus took back his former wife. Did she forgive and forget? Hardly! She murdered both her husband and Berenice (poisoned them) as well as an infant son of the couple... 7 "One from her family line will arise to take her place. Laodice s oldest son became the heir to the throne, Seleucus II He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. The new king of Egypt (south) was Berenice s brother. He would defend her honor by attacking the Syrian kingdom. He was successful and captured both territory and riches in the process They would live in peace for until 240 BC (all preparing for Jesus arrival) when Seleucus 7
attacked Egypt and was defeated to return home in shame. He was killed in a fall from a horse and his son, Seleucus III, would take the throne and be assassinated 4 years later by Antiochus the Great (his brother talk about dysfunctional families! Not to be confused with the infamous Antiochus Epiphanes who appears on the scene much later in this chapter ) 10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. Antiochus the Great would storm through Israel and conquer it. He was a great military leader whose victories took him all the way to India 11 "Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. The large army referred to here was another merger of forces. Antiochus joined forces with Philip of Macedon but, in spite of superior numbers, they were defeated at the battle of Raphia, thus forfeiting control of Israel once again to Ptolemy IV 8
But it is a short-lived victory 12 When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. 13 For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years (13 years), he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. 14 "In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. This must have been hard for Daniel to hear. The violent men from among his own people meant that Jews would actually join forces with the north to oppose Antiochus. They would fail 15 Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. 16 The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful 9
Land and will have the power to destroy it. This is what always happens when you side with the devil. Israel s violent men (rebels) so hated Egypt that they took sides with Antiochus, a truly evil man. Though they believed him to be a deliverer from Egyptian rule, it turns out he slaughters them and destroys Palestine Marriage again enters the scene 17 He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. Not content to co-rule with Egypt, Antiochus would conceive a plan which he believed would get him complete control. He gave his daughter in marriage to Ptolemy V. Her name was Cleopatra I not the Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra (this Cleopatra wasn t even Egyptian; she was Greek) Interesting note: his plan failed because Cleopatra fell in love with Ptolemy and wouldn t undermine him as her father wished Plan B 10
18 Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander (a Roman general named Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus) will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him. Another interesting historical note is that Antiochus recruited the help of Hannibal (of elephant fame), the famous general from Carthage. But even his help would not be enough with God in control The reference to his insolence is also interesting. In an earlier meeting, Antiochus had insulted the Roman general but this victory proves who got the last laugh 19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more. Antiochus died trying to plunder a Babylonian temple where he was killed by angry Babylonians 20 "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle. After Antiochus death in 187 BC, his heir, Seleucus IV imposed a heavy tax on the Jewish people. Shortly after issuing the decree to plunder 11
the Jewish temple, Seleucus IV died (poisoned; most likely by his own brother, the man we meet next), and v20 was fulfilled! As I told you last week, it s dangerous with Michael hanging around to mess with Israel Enter one of the most evil people in history 21 "He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. This is the evil Antiochus Epiphanes, the man we spoke of at length in an earlier study (ch.8). So evil is he that he is a forerunner of the man we know as the anti-christ. In secular history, this guy is nothing more than a foot-note. But in Daniel, because of who he typifies, God gives him a lot of press Like anti-christ, he doesn t take the throne (power) by force; he does so through intrigue. He is a clever manipulator of men. He was the man who desecrated the temple in 167 BC by slaughtering a pig on the altar of God His name means the glorious one. The devil (surely, this man was demon-possessed) has always wanted to be the glorious one he always 12
wanted to be God. This is exactly the approach the anti-christ will take when he appears on the scene A couple of things. 1 st, from the beginning, Israel has always sought the help of men in their battle to self-govern instead of seeking God. They have always made poor choices when it comes to the men they follow. They will also receive anti-christ as the messiah in the end 2 nd, as we think about the history of the world we ve studied so far, nothing has changed, nothing is different from the very time we live in! Man is still trying to control other men, other nations through intrigue and physical power. Man has never remembered that God was in control that they were not. I hope/pray none of us forget 22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. 23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. Historically, Antiochus made deals with nations he never intended to keep (act deceitfully) 13
24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses-- but only for a time. 25 "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. 26 Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him (his advisors will plot against his life. The devil s kingdom is NOT a united one ); his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. 27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy 14
covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. After his initial victory, Antiochus would not settle for anything less than total victory. He returned to Syria in 170 BC and, two years later, invaded Egypt again in violation of the agreements he made. In the same way, anti-christ will made deals with nations and violate them! He will be hailed as a peace-maker who really isn t interested in peace at all! I tell you all this to show how God has prepared the world for what is to come by telling the story of the future in the past His victory won t last long 29 "At the appointed time (throughout history, please notice that no one reigns beyond the time appointed for them by God! Man thinks he rules, that he is in control; we know better ) he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands (Rome getting into the battle) will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. Rome s inclusion here is important because this 15
paves the way for the most terrifying of all empires, the iron beast of Daniel s earlier visions Antiochus defeat by Roman soldiers embittered him. History tells us that his ships were encircled and captured by the Roman navy. After the battle had ended and Antiochus was captured, he was forced to stand in a circle drawn out on the ground and pledge to serve Rome paying tribute before he stepped out of that circle! This kind of humiliation angered him so that it set up the destruction of the temple we spoke of earlier! Antiochus Epiphanes was a bitter, angry man 31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. In his fury against Jews, he will erect an altar to Zeus in the Holy of Holies and demand that Zeus (he thought himself to be the incarnation of Zeus thought he looked just like him! ) be worshipped. The desolation referred to here is that no Jew would ever come to worship there again until the temple was purified. That would happen more great stories 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the 16
people who know their God will firmly resist him. Many of the Jews had deserted their faith in God and assimilated into the wicked culture. But not all There are always men and women in every age who will not turn from God. Some of Israel s greatest heroes were born through this time. A Jewish priest name Mattathias refused to turn his back on God and, with his 5 sons, gathered an army together. We know them as the Macabbeus, a nickname meaning hammer. His oldest son, Judas, was the primary hero of this revolt and, with the help of God s angel, Michael, won an incredible, improbable victory over Antiochus Epiphanes! Did I say don t mess with Israel? 33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. As many as 80,000 Jews were killed and another 80,000 taken as prisoners or taken into slavery. Let s come back here next time. 2 more studies in Daniel, then Malachi 17
34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. 36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. I have told you that prophecy is sometimes confusing. This is why Instantly, without warning, Daniel s vision turns from the time of the Ptolemys and Seleucids to the time of the very end. From this point forward, the anti-christ is in view. How do we know this? The answer, as always, comes from Jesus. He said Matt 24:15-22; 15 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-- let the reader understand-- 18
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-- and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. You see, Jesus spoke of the abomination of desolation that Daniel was talking about as yet-future from the time Jesus was speaking! This is where we get the idea of types, or pictures, in the Bible. Antiochus Epiphanes was given to the world as a warning of things to come! There are some who try to make Antiochus Epiphanes the subject of this final section of ch.11. But it doesn t work. Because Jesus spoke of the abomination of desolation yet to come, the event has to be future from His perspective. Those who try to do so insist that 19
every Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled and they have to twist this chapter (and ch.12) in order to make it fit their eschatology. This is call preterism it really is quite silly 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. The antichrist doesn t come to power by starting out exalting himself above all other gods. He starts out small, humble a very attractive package. We read in ch.7 that he begins as the little horn who rises to power in a 10-nation European coalition, the revived Roman empire He will begin as a man of peace whose real goal (hidden agenda) is to rule the world. And, as we have talked about before, he will be empowered by the devil himself! There are a couple of important issues to discuss here. 1 st, this verse says he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers (NIV) which I believe is a poor translation. The Hebrew word is elohiym; it usually describes the God of Abraham, the God of the Jews. This has led some to speculate (don t really know where I stand; we won t be here when 20
he shows up so it s not too important) that the anti-christ is Jewish. One of the reasons to believe this view is that it seems unlikely that Jews would accept a non-jew as their Messiah. Opponents of this view say they simply believe the lie of 2 Thes.2:11 The 2 nd interesting phase here is or for the one desired by women. Depending on how this should be translated there can be two possible meanings: 1 st, that he will have no regard for the one desired by women, meaning the Messiah (a title for Messiah from Hag.2:7); Jewish women wanted to be the mother of the messiah. The other possible meaning is that he will not regard the desire of women, indicating to many that the anti-christ will be homosexual. There is no way to know for sure 38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god (Satan) and will greatly honor those who 21
acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. 40 "At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North (earlier, these titles applied to Egypt and Syria; there is no way to be sure the same applies in the great tribulation) will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships (this doesn t mean that war will revert to ancient methods of battle; Daniel is just using language meaningful to the readers of his day). He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many Bible scholars see this as the battle described in Ezek.38-39 I personally agree. That means the kings of the north would be Russia while Egypt probably is the southern force. This will be a supernatural victory did I say not to mess with Michael? Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 22
42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. This is the battle that eventually culminates in Armageddon the war to end all wars! The war where Jesus returns Next chapter Michael fights for Israel and Jesus returns! 23