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If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 19
Daniel
11: The Perfect Portrait
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Let's pray together:
Our Father,
As we continue our quest in the fascinating word of Bible prophecy, we are continually
amazed at how precisely You have foretold the great upheavals of history, even centuries
in advance!
We humbly ask You to guide us once again, as we take up another passage of the precious
Word You have given us.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Daniel 10:1
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed
to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar.
The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message.
----------------------------------------------------
Before taking up the prophecy of Daniel 11, let's look at the
context.
The year was 536 B.C., 15 years after the vision of Daniel 8. Babylon had fallen into the
hands of the Medo-Persian Empire three years before.
Having gained the confidence of the new king, Daniel remained counsellor at court.
Aged 90, the old prophet received his last vision, the last but not the least!
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Daniel, just as John will later, first meets Jesus Christ in vision:
DANIEL 10:5,6 |
REVELATION 1:13-16,18
================================|========================================
I lifted my eyes and look- | [I saw] One
like the Son of Man,
ed, and behold, a certain man | clothed with a garment down to the feet
clothe d in linen, whose waist | and girded about the chest with a gold-
was girded with gold of Uphaz! | en band. (...) His eyes [were] like a
His body was like beryl, his | flame of fire; His feet were like
fine
face like the appearance of | brass, as if refined in a furnace,
and
lightning, his eyes like tor- | His voice as the sound of many waters;
ches of fire, his arms and feet | (...) His countenance was like the sun
like burnished bronze in color, | shining in its strength. (...) He said,
and the sound of his words like | «I am He who lives, and was dead, and
the voice of a multitude. | behold, I am alive
forevermore.»
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Daniel 10:9,10
I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Then, suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees.
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Daniel 8:16,18
«Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.» (...)
Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he
touched me, and stood me upright.
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Daniel was stunned before this impressive vision.
But, just as previously, the angel Gabriel was sent to give him back his strength.
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Daniel 10:11,14
«O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I
speak to you. (...)
Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days,
for the vision refers to many days yet to come.»
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Gabriel was just about to give Daniel an astonishingly precise
vision concerning the kingdoms to come.
But let's carefully note that the events revealed concern «what will happen to your
people». So the vision takes an interest only in the nations whose actions will affect
the people of God, in one way or another.
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Daniel 10:1; 11:1
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed
to Daniel. (...)
Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen
him.
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In addition to Cyrus II the Great, king of the Medo-Persian
Empire, the prophecy makes a reference to Darius the Mede, who was governor of Babylon
within this same empire.
Daniel was counsellor to Darius, who sadly sent him to the lion's den, a story with a
happy ending (please read Daniel chapter 6 for more details).
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Daniel 11:2
And now I will tell you the truth: behold, three more kings will arise in Persia.
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As foretold, three more kings arose after Cyrus II the Great:
1. Cambyses II, who reigned from 530 B.C. to 522 B.C.;
2. The False Smerdis, known as Bardiya, brother of Cambyses II. He
usurped his throne, but reigned only for six months in 522 B.C.;
3. Darius I, son of Hystapes, who reigned from 522 B.C. to 486 B.C.
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Daniel 11:2
The fourth shall be far richer than them all.
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Esther 1:1,4
In the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned from
India to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces) (...).
He showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for
many days, one hundred and eighty days in all.
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As foretold, the fourth king, Xerxes I, also called Ahasuerus,
son of Darius I, was incredibly rich.
He reigned from 486 B.C. to 465 B.C.
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Daniel 11:2
The fourth [king] shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
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Greece remained the only significant area in the eastern
Mediterranean outside the Persian domination.
Xerxes laid plans to conquer it: according to the historian Herodotus, more than 40
nations furnished troops for Xerxes' army.
Two battles were held: in the Bay of Salamis, in 480 B.C., the Greeks sank the Persian
fleet; then at Plataea, in 479 B.C., Xerxes was decisively defeated when he lost his land
forces.
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Daniel 11:3
Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
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Daniel 7:6
There was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four
wings of a bird.
The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
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Then, at the head of the Greek Empire, Alexander the Great
overcame the Medo-Persian Empire.
As in the prophecy of Daniel chapter 7, the word «dominion» is attributed to him.
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Daniel 11:4
And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven.
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Daniel 8:8
Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.
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Alexander died at the age of 32, giving way to his four generals: Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus (see the previous lesson «The Ram and the Goat»).
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Daniel 11:4
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.
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Daniel 8:22
As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
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The parallel with Daniel 8 is perfect: both prophecies notice
that the division into four parts would contribute to the weakening of the Greek Empire.
Moreover, the prophecy of Daniel chapter 11 specifies that the kingdom of Alexander the
Great would not be divided «among his posterity»: in fact, his generals were the ones
who inherited the kingdom.
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Daniel 11:5
Then the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion.
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Daniel 11:5-15 then focuses on the wars between the two kingdoms
emerging from the Greek Empire.
The two enemy clans were:
- the North, represented by the dynasty of the Seleucids, ruling over
Syria;
- and the South, represented by the dynasty of the Ptolemies, ruling
over Egypt.
The conflict began with the very generals of Alexander the Great: Ptolemy I Soter
dominated first, but afterwards, Seleucus I Nicator became the most powerful.
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Daniel 11:6
At the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement.
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To establish peace, Antiochus II Theos, king of Syria (North),
grandson of Seleucus I Nicator, repudiated his first wife Laodice, and married Berenice, a
daughter of the king of Egypt (South), Ptolemy II Philadelphus, in 252 B.C.
But, unfortunately for Berenice, things turned out badly...
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Daniel 11:6
The daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the
North to make an agreement.
But she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority
shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot
her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.
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Antiochus II and Ptolemy II both died in 246 B.C., making the
agreement meaningless.
Laodice then came back, and had Berenice and her son murdered, thus giving back the throne
to her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus.
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Daniel 11:7,8
But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who
shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them
and prevail.
And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes and their precious
articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
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Ptolemy III Euergetes, brother of Berenice, avenged his sister by
overcoming Seleucus II Callinicus in 241 B.C.
He also brought back to Egypt some 2500 gold and silver idols.
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Daniel 11:8,9
Then the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land.
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Satisfied, Ptolemy III Euergetes (South) never again attacked the
Seleucids (North).
But the latter did not forget: Seleucus II Callinicus re-established himself in Syria, and
tried to attack Egypt in 240 B.C. But he suffered a bitter defeat, as his land forces and
his fleet were completely destroyed.
Hurt and empty-handed, he «returned to his own land».
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Daniel 11:10
However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.
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Seleucus III Ceraunus Soter and Antiochus III the Great, sons of
Seleucus II, decided to avenge their father.
Antiochus III the Great took the matter in hand. First, he recaptured the port of Antioch.
Then, he set out upon a systematic campaign to conquer Palestine from his rival, Ptolemy
IV Philopator, during which time he penetrated Transjordan.
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Daniel 11:11,12
And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out
and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but
the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.
When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down
tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.
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Ptolemy IV (South) counter-attacked and defeated Antiochus III
(North) at Raphia, in Palestine, in 217 B.C., killing more than 10,000 enemies.
But resting on his laurels, he didn't see that a reprisal was being prepared...
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Daniel 11:13
For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
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16 years later, in 201 B.C., Antiochus III the Great (North) took
advantage of the weakness of Egypt, ruled at that time by Ptolemy V Epiphanes, a boy under
ten years of age.
He attacked him and took back Syria and Palestine, pushing on his conquests as far as the
limits of India.
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Daniel 11:14
And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South; also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall.
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Vulnerable, the young Ptolemy V had to face at the same time
Antiochus III and his associate Philip of Macedon, the current successor to Cassander, as
well as the Egyptians, who were rebelling against their Greek overlords.
Taking advantage of this conflict between Syria and Egypt, some fanatic Jews tried to
break free from the foreign dominion, but failed.
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Daniel 11:15
So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and
take a fortified city; and the forces of the South shall not withstand him.
Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.
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Seeing the threat over Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Rome, who had had the
guardianship of the young king since he was 5, forbade Antiochus III the Great to come
back into Egypt.
However, the latter did not take this warning seriously, and seized two fortified cities:
Gaza, in 201 B.C., and Sidon, in 198 B.C.
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Daniel 11:16
But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will,
and no one shall stand against him.
He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.
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Daniel 8:9
And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great (...) toward the Glorious Land.
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But Rome retaliated, and overcame Antiochus III in 191 B.C.
Afterwards, Rome, at the battle of Pydna, in 168 B.C., crushed the last traces of
independence in the Greek Empire.
Then, in 64 B.C., Roman general Pompey invaded Palestine, «the Glorious Land».
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Daniel 11:17
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his
whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do.
And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with
him, or be for him.
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Rome continued its conquests under the command of Julius Caesar.
Cleopatra VII, daughter of the king of Egypt Ptolemy XII Auletes Philadelphus, became the
mistress of Julius Caesar, but the latter never married her.
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Daniel 11:18,19
After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall
take many.
But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach
removed, he shall turn back on him.
Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and
fall, and not be found.
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After having conquered many isles of the north coast of Africa
and of Asia Minor, Julius Caesar returned to Rome, where he was proclaimed dictator in 46
B.C.
But his close relatives, led by Brutus, his adopted son, and Cassius, were plotting
against him, and murdered him in 44 B.C.
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Daniel 11:20
There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.
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The great-nephew of Julius Caesar, Octavius, succeeded him, thus
becoming Caesar Augustus.
Under his reign, Rome knew its greatest hours of glory.
Just as foretold, he died peacefully in his bed at the age of 76, in A.D. 14, «not in
anger or in battle».
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Daniel 11:20
There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom.
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Luke 2:1
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
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Just as foretold, Caesar Augustus was at the origin of a
universal tax system.
This is why a census was organized at the time of Jesus' birth, as reported in the Gospel
according to Luke.
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Daniel 11:21
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.
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Caesar Augustus founded the official position of Roman emperor.
Because of that, the word «augustus» soon became synonymous with «emperor», and every
Roman emperor was afterwards known as an «Augustus».
This succession of emperors finally gave way to another type of rulers, described here as
«a vile person», without «the honor of royalty».
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Daniel 11:21
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.
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In fact, from verse 21 to the end of chapter 11, the prophecy
looks into the actions of this «vile person», who is also called «the king of the
North».
Who is this king of the North? This will be the subject of a future lesson.
But before ending this lesson, let's look at a few extracts of these last verses of Daniel
11.
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Daniel 11:25,40,41,44
He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of
the South with a great army. (...)
The king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen,
and with many ships. (...)
He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown. (...)
He shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
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The story of the king of the North is marked by the number and the violence of the wars he made against his various enemies.
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Daniel 11:23,32,36,37
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. (...)
Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery. (...)
He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the
God of gods. (...)
[He shall not] regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above them all.
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Here are two other main traits of the king of the North: his hypocrisy, by which his power grew, and his great arrogance.
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Daniel 11:28,30-33
His heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall
do damage. (...)
He shall (...) return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. (...)
And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress. (...)
But the people who know their God shall be strong. (...) Yet for many days they shall fall
by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.
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And the last major clue: the main target of the attacks of the king of the North is God's people, faithful to His Word and His will.
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Matthew 7:8
He who seeks finds.
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Although the identity of the king of the North will be revealed
only in a future lesson, it is possible to seek right now to find who he is.
A little research with a good history book will quickly answer this question.
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Daniel 10:1,21
A message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called
Belteshazzar.
The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message.
(...)
«I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth.»
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The truthfulness of the prophecy of Daniel 11 is asserted twice:
«the message was true...», «what is noted in the Scripture of Truth».
Until today, this prophecy has been rigorously accurate.
What does the future hold for us? Just like Daniel, let's all «understand the message».
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Let's end this lesson with a prayer:
Lord, our God,
The prophecy of Daniel 11 greatly amazes us by its astonishing accuracy.
The complete fulfillment in history of the foretold events calls us to give heed to what
You announce for today.
Through Your Holy Spirit and Your inspired Word, please help us to properly prepare
ourselves for the time of the end and for the return of Your Son Jesus Christ.
In His precious name we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 19 is waiting for you!