Providence & The Kingdoms of Men

Introduction

Daniel 11 is possibly the most prophetic passage in the entire Bible. It has very detailed prophecy of the kings, kingdoms, and conflicts between the time of Daniel and the first coming of the Messiah. From Daniel’s perspective, these prophecies were future, but from our perspective, they have been fulfilled in history. This passage has caused many Bible critics to think that Daniel didn’t actually write the scroll of Daniel, because the prophecies are so specific. They conclude it must have been written after the fact.

In this chapter, we will meet possibly the most evil villain in Israel’s history; the one who desecrated the temple. But we will also see God’s providential hand guiding the course of history, setting the stage for His kingdom to come in Jesus.

Given the nature of this passage, it would be very difficult to listen to an in depth verse by verse explanation in this small amount of time. Instead, I will give us an overview of what is going on, pointing out the highlights and stopping at historically significant places. We will spend more time discussing the villain I mentioned above, called “the madman” by the Jews. Then once we have completed our survey, we will discuss how this text displays God’s providence in a glorious light.

I. Persian & Greek Empires

Persian Kings - vv.1-2

v.2a “Three more kings shall arise in Persia…”

Cambyses, son of Cyrus (530 - 522)

Smerdis Magus (522)

Darius, son of Hystaspes (521 - 486)

v.2b “...A fourth shall be richer than all of them…”

Xerxes (486 - 465): Also known as Ahasuerus, the same king that Esther married.

v.2c“...He shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.”

Around 480 BC, King Xerxes gathered a massive force to invade Greece, hoping to completely conquer it to avenge his Father, King Darius’ failed first invasion. Xerxes’ invasion was unsuccessful however, and the Greek navy and land forces, though fewer in number, proved to be superior.

Greece - United Kingdom v.3

“Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and rule as he wills”

Alexander the Great is the mighty king in view here. Alexander conquered most of the ancient world prior to his death at age 32.

From Xerxes death in 465 BC to Alexander the Great’s conquering of Persia in 334 BC, there is a time span of 131 years. There were other Persian kings after Xerxes, but Xerxes is the primary Persian king in view in this prophecy due to his massive invasion of Greece and it’s failure. That seems to be why the other Persian kings are skipped over and verse three moves right on to talking about Greece.

Greece - Divided Kingdom vv.4-20

“...his kingdom shall be broken and divided towards the four winds of heaven…”

After Alexander the Great’s death, his kingdom has divided between his four generals.

“...but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled…”

His kingdom went to his generals, not his descendants.

The Greek empire was significantly weaker once it was divided between the generals. The glory of Greece was no more.

From verses 4-20, we see detailed prophecy regarding the “kings of the north” which was Greco-Syria, the “kings of the south” which would be Greco-Egypt and “the glorious land” which is Israel. Keep in mind that all of the directions of the kingdoms are from the perspective of Jerusalem.

Starting in verse 21

II. The Madman or The God-Man?

Antiochus Epiphanies IV vv.21-35

Antiochus IV reigned from 175 - 164 BC.

His Character

He was arrogant and worshiped himself. He gave himself the name “Epiphanies”, which means “God manifest” or “Manifest one”. He saw himself as a God-man.

He was a person who did not deserve respect. - v.21a

In fact, Antiochus was so contemptible to the Jews that instead of calling him Epiphanies, they call him “Epiganies” which means “Madman”

He used flattery to get what he wanted. - v.21b

He was a deceitful person. - v.23

His heart was bent on doing evil. - v.27

He hated God’s people. - v28

Particularly the High Priest Onias III, called the “prince of the covenant” in verse 22. Antiochus hated Onias and the Jews for their resistance to Greek culture.

His Actions

He stole the throne from his other brother by sending him to exile in Rome. -v.21

He had a very strong army that would destroy any in its path. - v.22a

He was known for plundering everywhere he went. He greed knew no end. - v.24

He waged war against the Greco-Egyptian kingdom twice in his career.

The first campaign was in ad 169 and was very successful. - v.25 - 27

After his first campaign against Greco-Egypt, while on his way back to Syria, he suspected an insurrection, and in response he stole treasures from the Jewish temple and massacred 80,000 Jews.

One year later, Antiochus invaded the Egypt again, fulfilling the prophecy in verse 29 “At the appointed time he shall return and come into the South”, but this time his campaign would not be successful.

The Greek empire in Egypt had acquired help from the “ships of Kittim”, which certainly refers to the Romans. The Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, who lived during the first century AD, mentions to the Jews, “Kittim” was nearly everything to the West on the Mediterranean, which would include many Islands, and even Italy.

With the help of the Romans, Antiochus was humiliated and had to return back to Syria with his army.

In verse 30, we see that in Antiochus’ anger turned his sights to Israel to let out his rage.

This would be one of the darkest times in Israel’s history, only matched by the complete destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Romans just a few centuries later.

What Antiochus proceeded to do is what Daniel calls the “Abomination of Desolation” in verse 31.

For 3 and a half years, until the end of Antiochus’ reign, he unleashed a horrific persecution against the Jews.

He put an end to the animal sacrifices, prohibited male circumcision, and prevented any other Jewish expression of worship.

Worst of all, his forces then went into the Jewish temple, plundered it, and set up an altar of Zeus in the Temple where he sacrificed pigs on the altar inside the temple.

During this time, there were many Jews that apostatized and began following Hellenistic culture and worship for the sake of avoiding persecution.

In response to all of these atrocities, a faithful remnant which we see in verse 32-35, will rise up, stand firm, and take action.

This is referring to the Maccabean revolt.

They were faithful to God and His law until the point of death, knowing that God would be glorified and would reward them eternally for their faithfulness.

Antiochus IV, Julius Caesar, or a Future Anti-Christ vv.36-45

It is at verse 36 to 12:3 that it is less clear who is in view. There are three main interpretations of this final section:

“The King” in verse 36 is still referring to Antiochus IV.

“The King” is referring to the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar.

“The King” is referring to an anti-christ figure in our future.

After much study, I find that options 1 and 2 are both plausible, while leaning more towards option 1 with this portion still referring to Antiochus IV.

It seems to me, as well as many Christian scholars and commentators, that what we see in 11:36-12:3 is a recapitulation or re-statement of verses 11:21-35, something common in Jewish literature.

There are many parallels between these two sections.

In verse 40, it says that “at the time of the end, the king of the South shall attack him, but the king of the North shall rush upon him like a whirlwind.” Indicating that we are still talking about Greco-Syria and Greco-Egypt. Indeed, this is the very context of the vision.

The time of the end does not here refer to the end of human history, but rather the end of this course of events, probably referring to the persecution and abomination of desolations mentioned earlier.

This is not referring to a future anti-christ figure.

This would require a gap of over 2,100 years between verses 35 and 36, which seems very unlikely

Many conservative Christians have a problem with a gap-theory between Genesis verse 1 and 2, but don’t have a problem with gap theories in Old Testament Prophecies in order to give them some future-to-us fulfilment. We need to be careful that our theological systems do not force the Bible to say what it doesn’t say.

As I mentioned before, verse 40 resumes talking about the kings of the south and north, clearly indication Syria and Egypt are still in view.

The very purpose of the book of Daniel is to prepare the people of God for the first coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. Understanding this entire prophecy to be ancient Greece or even ancient Rome takes us right up to the time of Christ and His kingdom.

Regardless of your view on this passage, we can clearly see the arrogance and evil of Antiochus IV. Think of how Jesus is so different and so much better.

Antiochus IV gave himself the title “God manifest”, while Jesus did not exalt himself and instead, the Father gave him the name which is above every name.

Jesus truly is “God manifest in the flesh”.

Jesus conquers not with violence, but with holy love, peace, and hope.

III. Providence

Pieces in place for the growth of Christ’s Kingdom & the Gospel

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…” Galatians 4:4

Because of the Greek empire spreading so widely, most of the ancient world spoke Greek by the time of Christ, enabling Christianity to spread far and wide without a language barrier.

Because of the Roman empire, access to other countries was very easy, especially to a Roman citizen like Paul, making missionary and church planting journeys safer and more successful. There were safe roads and passages to nearly every part of the ancient world.

2. God Directs the Future and History

“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” - Isaiah 46:8-11

All of history is directed by God. He wrote the story. Every event, every war, every atrocity - it all happens as a part of His grand plan to eventually redeem the world in Christ.

He does not waste anything. All good choices we make, all evil. All wise decisions and all foolish - He uses all of them and works them together for good. Nothing is wasted with God.

Instead of wallowing in the guilt of your past, lay it all on the crucified Jesus, let it be buried with Him, and walk forward in the new life He has given you. Trust that even your worst mistakes are part of God’s plan.