Daniel 11

Kings of the South and North

¹“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

²Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

• DAN 11:2[PROPHECY]Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer... then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion... his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds → HISTORY: Three more Persian kings ruled, then a fourth, Xerxes, attacked Greece in 480 BC. Alexander's empire split four ways after 323 BC. Recorded by Herodotus and Arrian.
• DAN 11:2[NOTE]KINGS OF PERSIA AND GREECE. Chapter 11 tracks history so closely that many readers have matched it king by king: Persia, Alexander, then the Ptolemies in Egypt, the south, and the Seleucids in Syria, the north.

³Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. ⁴But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

⁵The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

⁶After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

• DAN 11:6[PROPHECY]The daughter of the king of the South would marry the king of the North and be given up, then her brother would take revenge and carry off their gods to Egypt → HISTORY: Berenice of Egypt married Antiochus II of Syria and was killed about 246 BC. Her brother Ptolemy III then invaded Syria and brought idols back to Egypt. Recorded by Appian and Jerome.

⁷But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing. ⁸He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, ⁹who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

• DAN 11:8[DEMONIC]A king carries off the gods and metal idols of his enemies

¹⁰But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress. ¹¹In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

• DAN 11:10[PROPHECY]The sons of the king of the North would gather a great army, but the enraged king of the South would defeat it → HISTORY: Ptolemy IV of Egypt beat the huge army of Antiochus III of Syria at Raphia, near Gaza, in 217 BC. Recorded by Polybius, Histories 5.79 to 86.

¹²When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph. ¹³For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

¹⁴In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

¹⁵Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist. ¹⁶The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. ¹⁷He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

• DAN 11:17[PROPHECY]The king of the North would give a daughter in marriage to the king of the South, but his plan would fail → HISTORY: Antiochus III of Syria gave his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy V of Egypt as his wife, about 193 BC. But she stood with her husband. Recorded by Appian, Syrian Wars 5, and Livy.

¹⁸Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him. ¹⁹After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

• DAN 11:18[PROPHECY]The king of the North would take coastlands, be stopped by a commander, then fall in his own land → HISTORY: A Roman army under Scipio beat Antiochus III at Magnesia in 190 BC. He was killed in 187 BC while robbing a temple in Elymais, in his own kingdom. Recorded by Livy and Diodorus.

²⁰In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

• DAN 11:20[PROPHECY]The next king would send a tax collector through the land, then die soon but not in battle → 2 Maccabees 3:7-40

²¹In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue. ²²Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

• DAN 11:21[PROPHECY]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 intrigues → Fulfilled in Antiochus IV who seized the Seleucid throne through political intrigue after Seleucus IV's death
• DAN 11:21[NOTE]A DESPICABLE PERSON. Most readers see Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who took the throne by intrigue in 175 BC. See The Little Horn.
• DAN 11:22[PROPHECY]With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him... he shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places; and he shall do what his fathers have not done: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches → Fulfilled in Antiochus's early campaigns and lavish plundering of Jerusalem

²³After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. ²⁴In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

²⁵And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. ²⁶Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

• DAN 11:25[PROPHECY]He shall stir up his power and courage against the king of the South with a great army... they shall speak lies at the same table → Fulfilled in Antiochus's wars against Ptolemy VI of Egypt

²⁷And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. ²⁸The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

• DAN 11:28[PROPHECY]Then he shall return to his land with great riches, and his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land → Fulfilled in Antiochus's return from Egypt in 169 BC

²⁹At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first. ³⁰Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

• DAN 11:29[PROPHECY]At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus (Kittim) shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant → Fulfilled 168 BC
• DAN 11:30[TEXT]LOSE HEART. The Hebrew is not the word for heart. The KJV says he shall be grieved.
• DAN 11:30[NOTE]KITTIM. In 168 BC a Roman envoy drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and made him leave Egypt.
• DAN 11:31[PROPHECY]Forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation → Fulfilled 15 Chislev 167 BC
• DAN 11:31[DEMONIC]Forces defile the temple and set up the abomination of desolation
• DAN 11:31[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → MT 24:15
• DAN 11:31[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → MK 13:14
• DAN 11:31[NOTE]THE ABOMINATION. In 167 BC Antiochus set up a pagan altar in the temple, 1 Maccabees 1:54. Jesus spoke of an abomination still to come, Matthew 24:15.

³²With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits. ³³Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

• DAN 11:32[PROPHECY]With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant → Fulfilled in the Hellenizing Jews who abandoned the covenant
• DAN 11:32[PROPHECY]But the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits → Fulfilled in Mattathias and his sons the Maccabees
• DAN 11:32[TEXT]DO EXPLOITS. Hebrew, be strong and act; the KJV word.
• DAN 11:32[NOTE]THE MACCABEES. Hanukkah remembers their win, John 10:22.
• DAN 11:33[PROPHECY]Those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering → Fulfilled in the Jewish martyrs of the Maccabean era

³⁴Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. ³⁵Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

• DAN 11:34[PROPHECY]When they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue → Fulfilled in the mixed coalition around the MaccabeesMEDIUM
• DAN 11:35[PROPHECY]Some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end → Fulfilled progressively in the Maccabean martyrdoms and purification of Israel

The King Who Exalts Himself

³⁶Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. ³⁷He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

• DAN 11:36[PROPHECY]The king shall do according to his own will; he shall exalt himself above every god → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM
• DAN 11:36[DEMONIC]A proud king honors a god of fortresses and a foreign god
• DAN 11:36[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → 2TH 2:4
• DAN 11:36[NOTE]THE KING WHO EXALTS HIMSELF. Still Antiochus, or, as many Christians see it, a jump to the Antichrist, 2 Thessalonians 2:4. See The Little Horn.

³⁸And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. ³⁹He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

⁴⁰At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. ⁴¹He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

• DAN 11:40[PROPHECY]At the time of the end the king of the North would sweep through many lands and then come to his end with no one to help him → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM

⁴²He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. ⁴³He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

⁴⁴But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. ⁴⁵He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.