Daniel 11-12
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[ Intro ]
last time we went through Daniel chapter 10. In that chapter we had an introduction to another vision Daniel had. Now this is also the last vision that takes us to the end of the book of Daniel. One of the main topics we brought out in the last chapter was about the battle that is going on in the heavenly / spiritual realm. Because the angel said he was in battle and held for 21 days before the archangel Michael came to help so he could deliver the message to Daniel.
Now here in chapter 11, we get into the details of the vision. And chapter 12, which is also the last chapter in the book of Daniel is not very long and also goes with chapter 11, so we are going to go through both chapters and finish up the book of Daniel today.
This prophetic chapter goes into great detail, so much so it’s another example of where people who don’t believe in the prophetic Word of God say this had to of been written after the events had taken place.
[ Prayer ]
[ Body ]
2 “Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece.
3 “Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. 4 But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
Here in verse 2 we see the fourth king after King Cyrus, will be the one who causes conflict with Greece. And looking at history that is what happened. King Xerxes was fourth after Cyrus and did stir up trouble. And to connect the dots, this is also the same king you’d read about from the book of Esther, who eventually had Haman executed after attempting to kill the Jews.
There were more Kings of Persia after him, but he’s the last one pointed out because he stirred up the trouble which would eventually lead to the end of the Medo-Persian empire. And that was ended by Greece led by Alexander the Great. Which is who was being described in verses 3-4. I know this is a little bit of a recap from what we’ve read in previous chapters as well.
He died at the peak of his power at a young age. And his kingdom ended up being split to be ruled by four of his generals as his sons were murdered. And the empire did not hold the same power after it was split.
Let’s read verse 5:
5 “The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.
Verse 5 is an introduction to two kingdoms, the northern and southern kingdoms of the Greek empire.
The king of the south was under a man named Ptolemy, and he was greater than all the others. He established the Ptolemaic dynasty and ruled over Egypt. The official mentioned in verse 5 is a man named Seleucus. He was originally an official of Babylonia, but fled to the southern kingdom to serve under Ptolemy. Eventually after the general ruling over Babylonia was defeated, Seleucus went back to be an official there and grew in power greater than Ptolemy. He ended up ruling over the Northern kingdom which contained Syria. And he established the Seleucid dynasty.
Now, verses 6-20, we’re not going to read but we’ll summarize. If you want to review it later though, I would say it’s still interesting for the very fact that this was prophecy, and seeing all the details given within all the back-and-forth is remarkable. Which is why so many people believe that this couldn’t have been written before the events. Verses 6-20 contains a lot of back and forth of strife between these two kingdoms of the north and south. Sometimes the north wins, sometimes the south wins. Sometimes a daughter is given in marriage to one side to gain favor. Then betrayal happens. The leaders were filled with pride and envy. Each side wanted to grow an army and conquer the other, not very different than any other point history between different kingdoms and nations. And You might wonder, why isn’t there anything about the kingdoms of the east and west? This is because the vision was focused on the people of God. And the Holy land went back-and-forth of ownership under the kingdoms of the north and south as they battled through the years. So that’s why we get all the details about them and not the others. And with this focus, this is really leading up to one main tragic evil leader. Which is Antiochus.
We discussed Antiochus in an earlier chapter, and we see him prophesied about here again. And if you remember what we discussed last time we mentioned Antiochus, he is the fore-shadowing of what is to come in the end times with the antichrist. He was the man who gave himself the title Antiochus Ephiphanes, meaning the glorious one. He viewed himself like a god. And the Jews called him Antiochus Epimanes. Meaning the mad one.
So we are going to jump to verse 21 where a new person takes over kingship of the Northern Kingdom, so part of the Seleucid kingdom. This man that takes over is Antiochus.
Let’s read verses 21-31
21 “The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. 23 With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. 24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.
25 “Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. 26 His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27 Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time.
28 “The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.
29 “Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.
31 “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. 32 He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
33 “Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. 34 During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. 35 And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
At the beginning you see Antiochus was not in line for royal succession. The throne was rightfully another man’s but he was being held hostage in Rome, and that allowed Antiochus to step in out of place and take over. He gained favor from the people by deceit and bribery to key political people.
If you remember from chapter 8 when we read about one of Daniel’s other visions with the animals, Antiochus was represented as a small horn that grew very powerful. He stepped out of line to steal the kingship and deceived people to become powerful.
From chapter 8,
25 He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.
This was about the antichrist, but remember this was more like a double reference between antiochus and the antichrist. He was a master of deception and you can clearly see how arrogant he was by giving himself the title Epiphanes, the glorious one.
And as we read in verse 28, he invaded the south, plundering Egypt, and on his way back he went through the Holy Land. He slaughtered roughly 80,000 men, woman, and children as he went through. And then proceeded to loot the Holy Temple.
Then in verse 29, Antiochus tried to invade Egypt again. But they were prepared. Where it reads “warships from western coastlands will scare him off”. That was help from the Romans requested by the southern kingdom. A roman commander met with Antiochus and gave him a letter from the Roman Senate. The order was for him to leave Egypt or face war with Rome. The commander then drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and said he had to give him a response before leaving the circle. Antiochus knew the might of Rome from previous encounters, and obviously we know not just from these prophecies we’ve read but from history, Rome is the one who conquers Greece. And they were very powerful. Anyways, Antiochus decided to surrender and leave Egypt.
Now a man as arrogant as him, you can imagine how humiliating this was for him. And when arrogant people are humiliated, especially one with a lot of power, they typically take their rage out in some evil ways. And that’s what he did, he massacred more Jews on his way home. And this is where he also defiled the temple by sacrificing a pig on the alter and placing a statue of Zeus inside, which put an end to the daily sacrifices.
Now as we dive into the next section, this is where we transition to focusing on end times and the antichrist. And it’s a little confusing because it appears to be continuing on talking about Antiochus, but there are many reasons to believe that this is transitioning to the antichrist, who is referred to as “king” here.
Daniel 11:36–12:3 (NLT)
36 “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place. 37 He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. 38 Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. 39 Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.
40 “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will enter the glorious land of Israel, and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. 42 He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants.
44 “But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many. 45 He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.
1 “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. 2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. 3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
There’s so many characteristics that resemble Antiochus here, which is why it seems like it’s still talking about him. And we even still see references to king of the south and north. There’s some points to clear up on this.
Antiochus did exalt himself, but he still worshiped false idols. The one described here, the antichrist, will attempt to exalt himself above all. Claiming to be greater than any and all gods. We obviously know there’s only one true God. But the antichrist will try to deceive everyone to put their trust in him. Verse 37 is one that has a few interpretations. It says
37 He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.
Now the antichrist not having any respect or worshipping any god is pretty straightforward. But about the women, this one can be confusing. My translation reads “for the god loved by women”. Other translations like the King James version reads “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women”. Denying the desire of woman, seems like a weird statement here. This verbiage comes from the fact that since Jews knew the Messiah would be born of the Jews, all the woman desired to be the mother of the messiah. So when it reads denying the One loved by woman, it’s referring to the messiah, Jesus Christ. Ultimately this all boils down to the fact that the antichrist will not have his trust any god or anyone, because he will be exalting himself greater than all.
4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
Now let’s move on, in verses 40-45 you see a battle taking place between once again the kingdoms of north and south. This isn’t referring to the same kingdoms we were just talking about with Egypt and Syria and the Ptolemies and Seleucids. Most interpret this just that the Holy Land will be at the center of the battle. And from the other prophecies it’s believed that the ones who support the antichrist will be a confederation of 10 nations.
The battle will be fought in many places, but you see in verse 45 the final war will happen in Israel. The Holy mountain is Mount Zion where the temple stood.
In 12:1 it’s “at the time” is referring to everything in verses 36-45.
Whether believers go through the great tribulation or are called into heaven before it takes place, or during. This is another topic that is debated. A crucial passage that seems to claim that Christ will deliver us before the tribulation is in 1 Thessalonians.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
“Caught up in the cloud” is where we get the concept of the rapture. Christ will raise us up and meet us in the air and take us to heaven.
Also coming from Christ Himself in Matthew 24:30-31
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
As a believer you are one of his chosen ones. And he will gather all of us together and bring us home to heaven.
Ultimately, it won’t matter the exact timing of when we’re delivered, our destination is the same. And it’s the same destination that we look to as our prize as we go through any of life’s struggles. To receive our heavenly inheritance and live with Christ in heaven for eternity. We receive that promise from believing Christ alone.
And think about verse 12:3
3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
The wise are the ones who have put their faith in Christ. They’ll shine as bright as the sky. But the ones who take that wisdom, and share it with others, planting that seed, being a part of God’s plan to deliver others from sin into righteousness, those will shine like the stars forever. Theirs a special reward for those who share the Good News.
When we share the Good News we do so out of love for God and love for the people were sharing it with. Because the only other option if they don’t choose God is to perish and suffer for eternity. This is an important call to remind us that just because we have received the grace of God, there’s a vast amount of people who are headed for a terrible destination. There’s only two destinations. We need to share the wisdom that God has given us with others.
We’re going to finish up Daniel now and read verses 4-13.
4 But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
5 Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. 6 One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking events are over?”
7 The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”
8 I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?”
9 But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.
11 “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. 12 And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!
13 “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”
We see the question posed here, how long will this tribulation last? a “time, times, and half a time” refers to 3 and a half years. And that starts from the time the antichrist desecrates the temple and worship stops.
It’s pretty astonishing after everything that will happen during that time period, it reads in verse 10 that many will continue on in their wickedness to the very end. And you read that in the book of Revelation as well. They won’t turn from their ways. Some will though. We see in verse 10 also, some will be purified and cleansed through this. Also in the book of Zechariah we can read about the end times and how Christ will appear before the Jews and many will turn to Him and will weep over the fact that the Jews persecuted Him.
Daniel still had more questions about how exactly this was going to end. But he’s not given an answer. We get more clarity by reading books in the New Testament, but there’s still plenty to wonder about. Eschatology is a very deep topic that we’ll never fully understand. But the one answer that we can rest in and be encouraged by is that the victory has already been won in Christ. And by putting our faith in Him, we also receive that victory and joy and we will be with Christ forever. And when the great tribulation has passed, we will join Christ in the millennial kingdom on the new earth. But while we’re still on this corrupted earth, tainted by sin, we are to go and spread the Good News to others so they can be washed clean and receive victory in Christ.