Preface
This paper is published in three parts covering Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 11 and 12 of the book of Daniel:
- Part 1 -Introduction and the kings leading up to Antiochus IV Epiphanes
- Part 2 -Despicable Person: Antiochus IV Epiphanes
- Part 3 -Antichrist
Introduction
The book of Daniel contains some very important prophecies concerning Israel’s future that impact the whole world. Some of the predictions written by Daniel have been fulfilled, while others foretell of yet future events.
Of the events already fulfilled, the predictions contain such detail that critics have argued Daniel wrote history -not prophecy. They suggest that the book was written later, after the events had occurred, rather than early. I have written about some evidence for the earlier date for Daniel in my post, Authenticity of the book of Daniel.
About the early date of Daniel, Bible teacher and pastor John MacArthur says that Imperial Aramaic and archaeology have confirmed the early date of writing. Despite this evidence, some skeptics think Daniel was written as one would record the events of his own day. They are not willing to believe in supernatural prophetic visions from God.
This paper will take the view that God has indeed given prophetic visions to Daniel, and the early date of his writing is correct.
Seeing the fulfillment of prophecy in world events is not an exact discipline. Unless God tells us in His word, we are taking our best educated guess on a prophecies’ fulfillment. In addition, we can see that sometimes there is more than one fulfillment in a prophecy. This is the case with this passage in Daniel which we will see later.
This paper is my compilation of what many Bible scholars, teachers, and commentators have concluded that Daniel’s vision is about. In includes historical information from Maccabees,1 Josephus,2 and others.
Background
Daniel’s vision in chapter eleven is an enlargement of his earlier chapter eight vision about the same subject. The vision in chapter eleven is different and goes into more detail than the first vision, and occurs about fifteen years later. I write about the vision from chapter eight in my paper, The Ram & The Goat.
Bible commentator Joseph Benson describes Daniel chapter 10 as a preface to the prophecies in the following two chapters. Daniel describes where he was at the time, of the supernatural being who came to explain the vision, and the effect that the whole scenario had on him.
Daniel 10:1 “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.”3
The phrase ‘the message was true,’ may mean that unlike the earlier, highly symbolic visions, these visions are true, “or plain, as the word truth, or true, is sometimes taken in the Hebrew,” according to Benson.4 Rather than the beasts of Daniel’s previous visions in earlier chapters of Daniel, the visions of chapters 11 and 12 speak of kings and kingdoms.
Also in chapter 10 we see two principal angels used by God to give Daniel understanding of his visions, to defend and assist the Jews, and to strengthen the kings who were for the Jews. The angel Michael is named, and some commentators think that the unnamed angel is Gabriel.
The unnamed angel says to Daniel, “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.” (Daniel 10:14)
Spiritual Battle
The angel explains that he came to answer Daniels’ prayer, and would have come to him sooner, but was detained by a spiritual battle. The angel will return to the spirit battle, but first he will give Daniel understanding of the vision, along with comfort and encouragement. The angels concludes in verse 10:21a, “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth.”
The bit of information revealed by the angel concerning the spiritual battle seems out of place, but is important for Daniel to know. It is also important for us to know. This is one of the rare times where God pulls the curtain back and reveals to us the unseen spirit realm.5
Approximate Dates BC
551 Daniel’s prophetic vision (Daniel 8)
539 Medes & Persians invade Babylon, Cyrus is king
536 Daniel’s prophetic vision (Daniel 11)
530-486 Three kings, Cambyses, Smerdis, Hystaspis; then Xerxes
336 Alexander the Great
323 Alexander’s four generals
170 Despicable person: Antiochus IV Epiphanes
??? Antichrist -He comes on the scene in the end time
Daniel 11:2-4
2 “And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece. 3 And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded; for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.”
The Kings
11:2 “And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.”
“The “three kings” here referred to were Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspis. As this communication was made in the third year of Cyrus (Daniel 10:1), these would be the next in order; and by the fourth is undoubtedly meant Xerxes.”6
“Xerxes’s expedition into Greece is one of the most memorable adventures in ancient history. Herodotus7 affirms, that Xerxes, in raising his army, searched every place of the continent, and it was the greatest army that ever was brought into the field. Herodotus lived in that age; and he recounts with great exactness the various nations of which Xerxes’s army was composed, and computes that the whole number of horse and foot, by land and sea, out of Asia and Europe, soldiers and followers of the camp, amounted to five million two hundred and eighty-three thousand two hundred and twenty men. Xerxes was the principal author of the long wars and inveterate hatred between the Grecians and Persians; and as he was the last king of Persia who invaded Greece, he is mentioned last. The Grecians then, in their turn, invaded Asia; and Xerxes’s expedition being the most memorable on one side, as Alexander’s was on the other, the reigns of these two are not improperly connected together.”8
Alexander the Great
Daniel 11:3 “And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.”
“All critics are agreed that here the reference is to Alexander the Great. Alexander invaded Persia 334 B.C., to avenge the wrongs of Greece on Persia for Xerxes’ past invasion (as Alexander said in a letter to Darius Codomanus.”9
Daniel 11:4 “But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded; for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.”
Matthew Poole, in his commentary, explains the prophecy in Daniel 11:4: “Alexander had a brother, named Aridaeus, and two sons, Alexander and Hercules, besides others of his blood, but the nobles destroyed them all; and so the whole race of Alexander was rooted out to fulfill this prophecy; but judicially, for his great cruelty, pride, and luxury.”10
The kingdom that Alexander amassed was therefore divided among his four generals, referred to as “the four points of the compass.” I write more about Alexander and his legacy in my post, The Ram & The Goat.
Alexander’s Generals
Daniel 11:5-20 describe the four generals’ fight over territory, along with their sons, for a period of years. I won’t go into the details of this section, except for a couple of broad comments.
Ellicott’s commentary explains that in this section of Daniel, the kings of the South and of the North are the Ptolemies and the Seleucians respectively.
“It has been customary from the time of St. Jerome11, if not from an earlier epoch, to explain most of what follows as referring to the Ptolemies and Seleucidæ. [BUT], the mere similarity which exists between certain things predicted here and what actually occurred in the times of the Ptolemies is not sufficient to limit the fulfillment of the prophecy to those times.”12
Conclusion of Part 1
We may tend to see these events as random, but God is always working to accomplish His purposes. As Matthew Henry comments,
“God, in his providence, sets up one, and pulls down another, as he pleases. This world is full of wars and fightings, which come from men’s lusts. All changes and revolutions of states and kingdoms, and every event, are plainly and perfectly foreseen by God.”13
End of Part 1. For Part 2, go to Antiochus to Antichrist -Part 2.
1 The Maccabees are apocryphal writings not normally accepted into the Protestant canon. They are good for historical perspective from which much of this was taken.
2 Josephus (AD 37-CA. 100) was a first century historian who wrote about the Jewish nation.
3 Belteshazzar is the Babylonian name given to Daniel by his captors in an effort to assimilate Daniel into their culture. (Daniel 1:7) See how this worked out for the Babylonians in my paper, Daniel Honors God.
4 Benson Commentary on Daniel 10.
5 The chapter break from the end of chapter 10 continuing to verse 1 of chapter 11 go together. The angel mentions his other tasks: the battle he is fighting; and assisting Darius. Daniel 10:21b and 11:1 put together, the angel says, “Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince. And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.”
6 Barnes’ Notes
7 Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c.480-c.429 BCE): Greek researcher, often called the world’s first historian. Herodotus related the story of the Euphrates river being diverted so the Persian’s could sneak in under the wall. He also mentioned the large stock of supplies that the Babylonians had stored away and could outlast several years siege against them. I have written about this extra-biblical historical account from Daniel 5 in my article titled, Belshazzar’s Banquet.
8 Bishop Newton -Quoted in the Benson Commentary
9 Pulpit Commentary
10 Matthew Poole’s Commentary
11 St Jerome c 347 – 419/420 AD is known for translating the Bible into every day Latin, known as the Vulgate. The translation took 23 years and was used by the Church for over 1,000 years.
12 Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
13 Matthew Henry’s Commentary