1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:
8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
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, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.
19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
25 And 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 forecast devices against him.
26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
27 And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Chapters 10-12 constitute a single vision which Daniel received. Chapter 10 provides the setting; chapter 11 gives the bulk of the vision; and chapter 12 concludes the vision and the subsequent discussion between Daniel and the heavenly visitors. So for the setting for chapter 11, please see on chapter 10.
This vision was given in the 3rd year of Cyrus (Daniel 10:1), about 535 B.C. For details, please see on chapter 10.
Beginning with verse 2, Gabriel outlines a detailed preview of the passing of dominion from one power to another, from the reign of Cyrus until the setting up of the kingdom of Christ.
In a brief sweep the heavenly messenger introduces the next four kings of Persia, then skips to the rise of Greece. Noting the breakup of Greece into four parts, he then slows down to relate striking details about the two dominant Greek divisions which would contend for supremacy for a hundred and fifty years.
In no less detail the rulers of the early Roman empire are described, all as foretold by divine insight half a millenium before the events occurred. The prophetic outline then continues with the rise of the barbarian powers and their giving of dominion to the papacy. Verses 36 to 39 characterize papal rule until "the time of the end."
The last six verses of the chapter describe events occurring in "the time of the end," climaxing with the final collapse of earthly powers.
The Main Characters in Daniel 11
"Also I"
The angel Gabriel is speaking.
"In the first year of Darius the Mede"
That was 538 B.C., the year in which both chapters 6 and 9 occurred.
"Even I, stood up to confirm and to strengthen him"
Gabriel is saying that in the year 538 B.C. he had especially worked with King Darius. When you study chapter 6 from the perspective of the king, you see that heavenly forces were indeed at work in his life. Chapter 6 closes with an exaltation of the God of heaven from the pen of Darius similar to Nebuchadnezzar's declaration at the end of his life.
"There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia"
Throughout this prophecy the expression, "stand up," means to come into power and begin to reign.
Cyrus was at that time king of Persia. The three kings noted in
this verse were those which immediately followed Cyrus:
"The fourth"
This was Xerxes (486-465 B.C.), the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. He was not only "richer," but also agitated the Greeks, as this verse indicates, which was not forgotten by them until Alexander the Great was able to conquer the Persians more than a century later.
Artaxerxes I, Persia's next king, gave the famous 457 B.C. decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25). But he is not mentioned in this chapter, nor are the rest of the kings of Persia.
"He shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia"
With this transition, the prophecy jumps ahead to the rise of Greece.
"A mighty king"
This was Alexander the Great (334-323 B.C.).
"Do according to his will"
Whenever this expression is used in Daniel 11, it indicates the rise of a new major kingdom. Notice how the phrase marks that transition in verses 3, 16, and 36.
"The four winds"
Here we see the four divisions of the Greek empire after Alexander's death. See comments on Daniel 8:8 for details.
"Not to his posterity"
None of the kings were Alexander's descendants.
"The king of the south"
"The south" designates Egypt, as it does in Daniel 8:9. "The king of the south," therefore, is the king of Egypt.
The story begins with Ptolemy I (Soter) in this position, who ruled from 323-285 B.C. in Egypt.
"Shall be strong"
During his reign, Ptolemy Soter took possession of Cyprus, Phoenicia, Caria, Cyrene, and many other islands and cities.
"One of his princes"
This is probably best understood as one of Alexander's princes, specifically, another one of the four kings who divided up the empire after Alexander's death. The description given in the rest of the verse would suggest a reference to Seleucus I (Nicator) who held power from 312/311 to 280 B.C. in Syria.
"And he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion"
In 281 B.C. Seleucus Nicator killed Lysimachus, thereby gaining possession of Thrace. Lysimachus had previously taken Macedonia from Cassander, but that territory did not fall to Seleucus because he died (280 B.C.) before he could conquer it. Macedonia fell into the hands of Antigonus, son of Demetrius, and exited from the prophecy. But the taking of Thrace by Seleucus enlarged the Seleucid kingdom "above" that of Ptolemy's, as this verse predicted.
"And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement"
Seleucus originally ruled over the province of Babylon. Upon the defeat of Antigonus, father of Demetrius, in 301 B.C., Seleucus enlarged his kingdom to include the territory of Syria. So, although the Seleucid kingdom is usually called "Syria," it was actually the expanded kingdom of Babylon. And because Babylon is often identified with the "north" in prophecy, the Seleucid, or Syrian, kings hold in Daniel 11 the title of "king of the north."
The event described in verse 6 took place during the reigns of Antiochus Theos, the third Greek king of Syria, and Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second Greek king of Egypt. See the chart of The Seleucids and the Ptolemies.
After some years of strife between Syria and Egypt, a peace agreement was made upon the following terms: Antiochus II would put away his wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and would marry Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy II, in fulfillment of this prophecy.
"But she shall not retain the power of the arm"
Soon thereafter, Antiochus put away Berenice and reinstated his former wife Laodice and her children.
"Neither shall he stand, nor his arm"
Laodice then arranged for Antiochus to be poisoned to death.
"But she shall be given up"
Berenice and her infant son were then murdered, also by the arrangement of Laodice.
"And they that brought her"
All of Berenice's Egyptian attendants were killed with her.
"And he that begat her"
The marginal reading is better, "Whom she brought forth." This is a reference to her son who was also slain.
"And he that strengthened her in these times"
Probably a reference to Antiochus.
"But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail"
This "branch" which came from the same roots as Berenice was her brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes. As soon as he came into power in Egypt he set about to avenge the death of his sister. With a large army he invaded Syria, which he conquered from Cilicia, all along the Euphrates, to Babylon.
"And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold"
Ptolemy III took from the kingdom of Seleucus Callinicus 40,000 talents of silver and 2500 images of the gods, including the Egyptian images previously captured by Cambyses, king of Persia. For this reason he was named Euergetes, or Benefactor.
"And he shall continue more years than the king of the north"
Seleucus Callinicus died in exile from a riding accident, and Ptolemy Euergetes outlived him by five years.
"But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress"
We will take the "his" in this verse to refer to the king of the north who was mentioned at the end of verse 8. The sons of Seleucus Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III Magnus (The Great). Both sons zealously fought to regain their father's lost dominions. First Seleucus III took the throne, but after only three years was poisoned. His brother Antiochus then became king, fulfilling the prophecy that "one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through." Antiochus assembled a large army and recovered all of Seleucia and Syria.
The last part of the verse is interesting: "Then shall he return, and be stirred up." Antiochus overcame the Egyptian general Nicolas, and intended at that time to invade Egypt itself. But a treaty caused him to "return" home, yet all the more was he "stirred up," preparing to engage once again in the war.
"And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand"
The reference here to "him" as being the king of the north, confirms which king was being described in verse 10.
Ptolemy IV Philopator (son of Euergetes) now ruled in Egypt. Because of the advances of Antiochus III, Ptolemy assembled an army to fight against him. Antiochus also "set forth a great multitude" which, according to Polybius, consisted of 62,000 footmen, 6,000 horsemen, and 102 elephants. In this Battle of Raphia, Antiochus' multitude was given into Ptolemy's hand. The Syrian army lost nearly 14,000 soldiers, with another 4,000 taken as prisoners.
"And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it"
Ptolemy's victories could have led to the entire conquest of the Syrian kingdom. But instead of following through, he entered into a peace agreement with Antiochus in order to devote himself to the indulgence of vice. Turning from what might have strengthened his kingdom to a position of world dominance, he wasted his days in feasting and sensuality.
Regarding the casting down of many ten thousands, Uriah Smith tells us more about Ptolemy IV.
"For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and much riches"
Those "certain years" were actually fourteen. Ptolemy Philopator had by that time died from his intemperance, and his son Ptolemy V Epiphanes, still a young child, held the throne. Antiochus, during those fourteen years, had regained power, and now he assembled an army "greater than the former" and set out against Egypt.
"And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south"
Antiochus was one, but not the only one, who "stood up" against the boy king. Antiochus entered into an alliance with Philip of Macedon to divide up Ptolemy's possessions outside of Egypt. Philip was the current successor to Cassander in the west. But also among the Egyptians themselves this prophecy was fulfilled in the rebellion of Ptolemy's own countrymen (See Polybius, The Histories, 5.107). In order to appease the restless Egyptians, the king's regents made concessions to them which are now preserved in the famous Rosetta Stone in the British Museum.
"Also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall"
The Hebrew here literally says, "the sons of the breakers of your people . . ." This could apply to the Egyptians, who one generation earlier had "cast down many ten thousands" (verse 12) of Jews ("thy people"). The expression, "shall exalt themselves," uses the same verb that is translated "taken away" in verse 12. This view is explained by William H. Shea:
"As a result of their defeat at the battle of Paneas (198 B.C.), the Egyptians were removed and taken out of the picture as far as Judea or southern Syria were concerned. Thus the phrase in verse 14 should be translated, rather literally, as "the sons of the breakers of your people were taken away...." It means that the Syrians took the Egyptians away by defeating them and thus the oppressors of God's people in Judea were removed." The Abundant Life Bible Amplifier: Daniel 7-12, p. 186.
Verses 16-29 Text
"For the ships of Chittim shall come against him"
"Chittim" refers to the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The coming of the ships of Chittim against the Roman Empire is a specific reference to the attacks of the Vandals against Rome by sea in the middle of the 5th century. As such, this expression stands in Daniel 11 to represent the Barbarian invasions in general. With this one expression the prophecy takes in the entire process of German infiltration into the Empire.
"Therefore he shall be grieved, and return"
Once the ships of Chittim have come against Rome, the "he" in the prophecy thereafter signifies the Empire under Barbarian leadership. After A.D. 476, the Germans were the leading civil figures in history and, as a result, in the prophecy. For more information on the Germanic Kingdoms, see comments on Daniel 7:7. Among them, the Franks quickly assumed the primary role. Of the Franks, George Burton Adams wrote,
"It is to them that the political inheritance of the Roman Empire passed; to them came the honor of taking up and carrying on . . . the political work which Rome had been doing." Civilization During the Middle Ages, pp. 137-144.
"And have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant."
We here enter the portion of the prophecy in which the civil powers submit to the religious powers. This process is symbolized in chapter 2 by the introduction of clay to the iron, in chapter 7 by the emerging of the little horn among the 10 horns, and in chapter 8 by the change of the little horn's activities from political to spiritual conquests.
The role of the Franks as the leading civil power, and the alliance they formed with the Catholic Church, requires a discussion of one of the most significant political figures in history, Clovis I. The events of his career signaled a pivotal point in the history of Western civilization.
Up until this point, all the Germanic peoples who converted to Christianity had adopted the Arian faith. Clovis, however, converted directly from paganism to Catholicism in A.D. 496, becoming the first of the barbarian kings to become a Catholic. Whereas the destiny of Europe lay in the hands of Clovis, his "intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant" would have a marked impact upon Europe theologically.
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate"
Upon his conversion, Clovis committed himself to advancing the cause of the Catholic Church. By military force of arms he set about to establish the Catholic creed throughout Europe.
This verse mentions three results of Clovis' armed efforts: The "sanctuary" was polluted, the "daily" was taken away, and the "abomination that maketh desolate" was placed. All three appeared also in the prophecy of Daniel 8.
In the comments on Daniel 8:11, the taking away of the "daily" was seen as an undermining of Christ's continual mediatorial position.
The polluting of the sanctuary was also referred to in Daniel 8:11, where it says, "the place of his sanctuary was cast down." And verse 13 speaks of giving "both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot." In further comments on Daniel 8:11 we saw this as a reference to a theological strike against the basis of Christ's mediatorial position.
For the historical fulfillment of this prophecy, read the story of Clovis.
The "abomination that maketh desolate" is the same as "the transgression of desolation" in Daniel 8:13. For an explanation of this, see comments on Daniel 12:11.
"And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits"
Since the influence at work in verse 31 affected people's understanding of the doctrine of God, those who were corrupted by those errors are contrasted here with "the people that do know their God."
"And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries"
This describes the persecution of those who refused to go along with the established religion. The "many days" were the 1260 days (years) of papal supremacy. The "help" which the persecuted ones received was brought about by the Protestant Reformation, which checked the advance of papal tyranny. But as the Reformation progressed, many did cleave to it for wrong motives, and eventually the reformed churches lost their purity.
"And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed"
Here is introduced a specific, appointed time, designated as "the time of the end." This period is also mentioned in Daniel 8:17; 11:40; and 12:4, 9. It arrives, according to this verse, at the end of the period of papal supremacy. Therefore we conclude that this appointed "time of the end" began in 1798 when the papacy lost its power.
Verses 33-35 have provided a brief overview of the papal period and the oppression of God's people during that time. We now turn our focus upon the ruling power itself which dominated that period.
"And the king shall do according to his will"
These words introduce the papal reign, using the same phrase that was used to introduced the rule of Greece and Rome.
"And he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods"
This parallels the description given the papacy in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." This presumptuous attitude on the part of this power was also noted in Daniel 7:8.
"And shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done"
How long would it be till the indignation be accomplished? That's the question asked in Daniel 12:6, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" Verse 7 answers, "It shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."
"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers"
The Roman Church would introduce a deity other than "the God of his
fathers." Notice the emphasis on this point throughout the passage:
The establishment by the Catholic Church of a doctrine of God previously unknown to Jews or Christians is a fact of history.
"Nor the desire of women"
This is evidently a reference to the celebacy doctrine of the Catholic clergy.
"But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces"
Or, the God enforced. The Catholic doctrine of God was enforced with severe penalties for deviation.
"A strange god"
See comment on verse 37.
Verses 40-45 Text
In verse 40 we find a brief reappearance of the king of the south and then the focus switches to the king of the north for the rest of the chapter.