Daniel 11, Part 1

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Daniel 11:2–20 ESV
2 “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. 5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times. 7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land. 10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. 14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. 20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
This prophecy predicted the rise of rulers and kingdoms and the wars they would fight. As each ruler swept across the scene of world history, they and their people would prove what God had predicted. A people would reap what they sow. To help the reader in his or her study, the Scripture and outline will be placed with each point as well as here at the beginning:
The first prophecy concerned the rulers of the Persian Empire (v. 2). Three kings who were important to Biblical history would succeed Cyrus, who was ruling when Daniel received this vision. The three kings were Cambyses (530–522 B.C.), Smerdis (522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystapspes (522–486 B.C.). After these three, a fourth king would arise who p 136 would become far more powerful than the others, so powerful that he would launch an invasion against the kingdom of Greece. This king was Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) (see outline and notes—Est. 1:1–22 for more discussion). It was this invasion into Greece that aroused Alexander the Great to retaliate against Persia. Therefore, none of the other kings of Persia are mentioned or predicted because they would not become directly involved in the history that affected the Jews and God’s plan for world redemption.
The second prophecy concerned the mighty Greek ruler, Alexander the Great (336–323 B.C.). Alexander ruled a vast kingdom with great power, doing as he pleased. Note how this last statement—doing as he pleased—indicates the horrible sin of arrogant pride, as well as the fact that Alexander exalted himself. He was driven by the lust for power. Nobody could stand in his way as he swept across the face of the earth, conquering nation after nation. Nobody could stop him despite the bloody slaughter, injury, pain, destruction, and devastation he caused. In 334 B.C. he launched a retaliatory attack against the Persian Empire. And within just four years he completed his conquest of the empire (331 B.C.).
Within nine years, when Alexander was at the height of his power, he suddenly died from a high-grade fever (323 B.C.). After his death his empire was divided into four kingdoms. Although he had two sons, neither one of them ruled over any territory. Instead, his kingdom was divided and given to four of his generals. But none of them was able to achieve or to carry Greece to its former power (for more discussion see 7:6; 8:8).
The third prophecy concerned the king of the South (Egypt) and the king of the North (Syria). These two kings were Ptolemy I Soter and Seleucus I Nicator (v. 5). Although there were four divisions of the Greek Empire, the two mentioned here were the nations that were directly south (Egypt) and north (Syria) of Judah. Thus they were the two divisions of the Grecian Empire that concerned the Jewish people and God’s plan of redemption for the world. Ptolemy had been a very capable commander under Alexander the Great, and Seleucus had been a high ranking officer of lesser rank. In 321 B.C. Seleucus was appointed the ruler over Babylonia, but he was attacked by another commander who had served under Alexander, the commander Antigonus. Thus Seleucus had to flee for his life, escaping to Egypt under Ptolemy’s protection. Some time later Antigonus was defeated in battle, so Seleucus was able to return to Babylon with Ptolemy of Egypt supporting him. Some years later Seleucus became strong enough to conquer all of Syria and Media to add to his Babylonian kingdom.
Thus the stage was set for the rule of the Ptolomies in Egypt and the rule of the Seleucids in Syria. As is seen throughout the remainder of this division of study (points d and e), the focus is upon the Egyptian dominance over Syria (vv. 6–12) and then the Syrian dominance over Egypt (vv. 13–20).
The fourth prophecy concerned the Egyptian or Ptolemy dominance over Syria (vv. 6–12). The angel revealed five significant historical facts to Daniel and to us through this prophecy.
1) The two dynasties would form an alliance through marriage (v. 6). The two rulers involved were Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Antiochus II Theos. The agreement between the two rulers stated that the daughter of Ptolemy, Berenice, was to marry the Syrian king Antiochus II (the king of the North), and that their son would eventually become the ruler of Syria.
2) However, the alliance would not last, for both Berenice and Antiochus would be killed by the king’s former wife Laodice. The former wife had wanted her own son to be the designated ruler of Syria. Thus she formed a conspiracy against the king and was successful in having him, Berenice, and their son killed. But the royal reprisals were not to stop with these brutal assassinations.
3) The prophecy included a prediction that the brother of Berenice would succeed his father and attack Syria to avenge his sister (v. 7). Berenice’s brother was Ptolemy III. He was victorious in seeking revenge, defeating the Syrians in battle and plundering the wealth of the nation, including seizing their idols or so-called gods. After executing vengeance against Syria, Ptolemy III of Egypt pursued a policy of peace for some years. But eventually the Syrian ruler Seleucus II invaded Egypt (v. 9). However, the southern king Ptolemy sent the northern king Seleucus scurrying back to his own homeland in defeat (240 B.C.).
4) Daniel’s vision also included predictions concerning the sons of Seleucus II, who succeeded him: Seleucus III and then Antiochus III (v. 10). Both of these sons would continue Syria’s conquest. Note how Scripture predicted that these two rulers would mobilize a mighty army and stir up war, overwhelming those whom they attacked. The nations they conquered included Phoenicia, Palestine itself, and some of Egypt’s fortress cities.
5) God also revealed to Daniel that the Egyptian king from the South (Ptolemy IV) would march out against the king of the North, defeating Antiochus III of Syria. Note the prediction that Ptolemy IV would be filled with sinful pride because he was able to slaughter thousands. However, his victory would be short-lived, for God would not allow him to continue prevailing over nations. His triumphant slaughter of armies and populations would end, an indication that God’s judgment would fall upon him.
The fifth prophecy concerned the Syrian (northern) dominance over the Egyptian (southern) rulers (vv. 13–20). A significant shift in power now took place, a shift from the Ptolomies of Egypt to the Seleucids of Syria. Remember that this was a prophecy given to Daniel, a prediction of events that were to take place in the future. To us these events are history, but to Daniel and his people they were events that had not yet happened. As stated earlier, an amazing fulfillment of prophecy! Antiochus III became so powerful that historians today refer to him as Antiochus the Great (223–187 B.C.). Thus he and the son who succeeded him carry us up to the contemptible ruler Antiochus Epiphanes.
1) The angel predicted that Antiochus the Great would mobilize a large army and invade Egypt, Palestine and Phonecia (vv. 13–19). His first campaign would be against the Egyptian king of the South (v. 14). In this campaign, some lawless Jews who hoped to gain their independence from Egypt would revolt against the Ptolomies. But they would be unsuccessful. Note the facts that were prophesied about Antiochus the Great:
⇒ He would have his soldiers pursue a division of the Egyptian forces who retreated to Sidon. The Syrian army would set up a siege around Sidon and eventually capture the fortified city (v. 15a).
⇒ He would be so powerful that the forces of Egypt would not be able to resist him (v. 15b). Antiochus the Great would do as he pleased and no one would be able to stop him (v. 16a).
⇒ He would conquer the beautiful land of Israel (v. 16b). Note the prediction that he would have the power to destroy it, which meant that he would control the entire land of Palestine. This conquest was setting the stage for the rise and rule of Antiochus Epiphanes, who would literally crush the Jews.
⇒ He would use his power to force Egypt to sign a peace treaty (v. 17). This treaty would be sealed by giving his daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy V. At this time, Cleopatra was only a small child.
⇒ He would see his plan to control Egypt fail (v. 17b). His daughter Cleopatra cared more for her husband in Egypt than she did for her father in Syria. Therefore she supported her husband, not the schemes of her father.
⇒ He would then turn his attention to conquering the Mediterranean coastlands, the islands and countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (v. 18). But Antiochus was soundly defeated by a battalion of Roman soldiers at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C. After this humiliating loss, the Syrian ruler was forced to turn back to his own country.
⇒ He would soon thereafter stumble and fall, which means that he would be killed (v. 19). Surprisingly, the ordinary citizens of the city of Elymais killed Antiochus the Great when he was plundering their temple (187 B.C.).
2) Antiochus’ son, Seleucus IV, immediately succeeded his father (v. 20). However, in order to pay the tribute demanded by Rome, he was forced to impose heavy taxes on the citizens of Syria and on the nations under Syria’s control, which included Palestine. Thus the Jewish people were severely oppressed under their new king’s leadership. Seleucus IV was poisoned by his prime minister, Heliodorus, in 175 B.C.
One important lesson jumps out at us as we review this prophecy: God fulfills His Holy Word. Down through the centuries, God has given us prophecy after prophecy to help us and to warn us of coming events. Many of these prophecies have already come to pass, but many still lie out in the future. They, too, will be fulfilled—unquestionably! All the prophecies that predict the coming blessings and judgment of God will be carried out. What God has predicted will happen. God’s Holy Word is an absolute surety, completely trustworthy.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2008. Daniel-Hosea. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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