Daniel chapter 11
The future leaders of the Persian Empire. The rise of Alexander the Great. Conflict between Egypt and Syria. Invasion by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Antichrist.
THE FUTURE RULERS OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
VERSE 1. “As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
I stood up. That is, Michael the great angel stood up.
VERSE 2. “Now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings will stand up in Persia; and the fourth will be far richer than all of them. When he has grown strong through his riches, he will stir up all against the realm of Greece.
three more kings. The angel reveals to Daniel the four future rulers of the Persian Empire.
During the exile in the Babylon, there was a succession of two world-conquering empires and eleven kings. Read more »
he shall stir up all. Power-hungry men always stir up trouble. Some are borderline narcissistic sociopaths. Some are devoid of human empathy.
To advance their own interests, they wreak havoc on other people, without even a tinge of remorse.
THE RISE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
VERSE 3. A mighty king will stand up, who will rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
A mighty king will stand up. Between 334 and 330 BC, Alexander conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and the land of the Medo-Persian Empire.
VERSE 4. When he stands up, his kingdom will be broken, and will be divided toward the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN EGYPT AND SYRIA
VERSE 5. “The king of the south will be strong. One of his princes will become stronger than him, and have dominion. His dominion will be a great dominion.
The king of the south. That it, the Ptolemies.
They ruled over Egypt, which was south of Israel.
VERSE 6. At the end of years they will join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she will not retain the strength of her arm. He will also not stand, nor will his arm; but she will be given up, with those who brought her, and he who became the father of her, and he who strengthened her in those times.
the king of the north. That is, the Seleucids.
They ruled over Syria, which was north of Israel.
VERSE 7. “But out of a shoot from her roots one will stand up in his place, who will come to the army, and will enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and will deal against them, and will prevail.
But out of a shoot from her roots. That is, “from a descendent of her line.”
VERSE 8. He will also carry their gods, with their molten images, and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, captive into Egypt. He will refrain some years from the king of the north.
VERSE 9. He will come into the realm of the king of the south, but he will return into his own land.
VERSE 10. His sons will wage war, and will assemble a multitude of great forces, which will come on, and overflow, and pass through. They will return and wage war, even to his fortress.
VERSE 11. “The king of the south will be moved with anger, and will come out and fight with him, even with the king of the north. He will send out a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.
VERSE 12. The multitude will be lifted up, and his heart will be exalted. He will cast down tens of thousands, but he won’t prevail.
He will cast down tens of thousands. That is, “he will slaughter thousands of his enemies.”
VERSE 13. The king of the north will return, and will send out a multitude greater than the former. He will come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with much substance.
VERSE 14. “In those times many will stand up against the king of the south. Also the children of the violent among your people will lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they will fall.
VERSE 15. So the king of the north will come and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city. The forces of the south won’t stand, neither will his chosen people, neither will there be any strength to stand.
VERSE 16. But he who comes against him will do according to his own will, and no one will stand before him. He will stand in the glorious land, and destruction will be in his hand.
VERSE 17. He will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions. He will perform them. He will give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she will not stand, and won’t be for him.
VERSE 18. After this he will turn his face to the islands, and will take many; but a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease. Yes, moreover, he will cause his reproach to turn on him.
the isles. That is, the coastlands.
VERSE 19. Then he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he will stumble and fall, and won’t be found.
VERSE 20. “Then one who will cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory will stand up in his place; but within few days he shall be destroyed, not in anger, and not in battle.
INVASION BY ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES
VERSE 21. “In his place a contemptible person will stand up, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom; but he will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
a contemptible person. That is, Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
He was a son of Antiochus III the Great. He ruled from 175 to 163 BC.
He called himself “Epiphanes,” which means “the Illustrious One.”
However, he was considered so untrustworthy that he was nicknamed “Epimanes” which means “the Madman.”
by flatteries. That is, by fraud. The politician’s expertise in lying is as old as the hills
VERSE 22. The overwhelming forces will be overwhelmed from before him, and will be broken. Yes, also the prince of the covenant.
VERSE 23. After the treaty made with him he will work deceitfully; for he will come up, and will become strong, with a small people.
a small people. That is, he has very few supporters.
VERSE 24. In time of security he will come even on the fattest places of the province. He will do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter among them prey, plunder, and substance. Yes, he will devise his plans against the strongholds, even for a time.
the fattest places. That is, the most prosperous provinces.
VERSE 25. “He will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south will wage war in battle with an exceedingly great and mighty army; but he won’t stand; for they will devise plans against him.
VERSE 26. Yes, those who eat of his dainties will destroy him, and his army will be swept away. Many will fall down slain.
those who eat of his dainties will destroy him. That is, “those who dine with him will destroy him.”
VERSE 27. As for both these kings, their hearts will be to do mischief, and they will speak lies at one table; but it won’t prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.
they shall speak lies at one table. At the negotiation table, these leaders speak lies and deceive.
VERSE 28. Then he will return into his land with great wealth. His heart will be against the holy covenant. He will take action, and return to his own land.
against the holy covenant. This leader sets himself against the Jewish people.
he shall practice. That is, he shall do great harm to the Jewish people.
VERSE 29. “He will return at the appointed time, and come into the south; but it won’t be in the latter time as it was in the former.
VERSE 30. For ships of Kittim will come against him. Therefore he will be grieved, and will return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and will take action. He will even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.
Kittim. This originally meant “island dwellers.”
But here it refers to the Romans.
have indignation. That is, rage. This leader is a boiling cauldron of rage.
VERSE 31. “Forces will stand on his part, and they will profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and will take away the continual burnt offering. Then they will set up the abomination that makes desolate.
the abomination that makes desolate. Both the Lord Jesus and the prophet Daniel predict a terrible event called the Abomination of Desolation. Read more »
VERSE 32. He will corrupt those who do wickedly against the covenant by flatteries; but the people who know their God will be strong, and take action.
those who do wickedly against the covenant. That is, apostacize.
people that know their God. Eternal life is knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ. Do you know them? Do you have a love-relationship with them? Read more »
be strong. Only the people who “know” the LORD God will take strong action.
VERSE 33. “Those who are wise among the people will instruct many; yet they will fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, many days.
they will fall. There will be a massive persecution of godly people.
VERSE 34. Now when they fall, they will be helped with a little help; but many will join themselves to them with flatteries.
many will join themselves to them with flatteries. This is an age when insincerity and lying is commonplace. Insincerity and lying win the day.
It is like today.
VERSE 35. Some of those who are wise will fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.
the wise shall fall. Some godly people will be persecuted. It will refine them and purify them.
THE ANTICHRIST
VERSE 36. “The king will do according to his will. He will exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and will speak marvelous things against the God of gods. He will prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is determined will be done.
The king. This king will be the final ruler in the Roman world.
Some people suggest this is Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
However, the details given in these verses were not fulfilled by Antiochus.
he shall exalt himself. This is the height of narcissistic excess. He exalts himself above all else, including divinity.
against the God of gods. The king will defy and speak blasphemously against the LORD God:
2 Thessalonians 2:4. he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.
VERSE 37. He won’t regard the gods of his fathers, or the desire of women, or regard any god; for he will magnify himself above all.
won’t regard the gods of his fathers. This king will have no respect for his own religious heritage.
the desire of women. That is, “the one in whom women delight.”
VERSE 38. But in his place he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers didn’t know with gold, silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.
fortresses. That is, strongholds.
VERSE 39. He will deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. He will increase with glory whoever acknowledges him. He will cause them to rule over many, and will divide the land for a price.
He will increase with glory. If you cooperate with his evil agenda, then he will reward you. Greatly.
But that is like selling your soul to the devil.
THE ANTICHRIST IS ATTACKED
VERSE 40. “At the time of the end the king of the south will contend with him; and the king of the north will come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships. He will enter into the countries, and will overflow and pass through.
VERSE 41. He will enter also into the glorious land, and many countries will be overthrown; but these will be delivered out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
VERSE 42. He will also stretch out his hand on the countries. The land of Egypt won’t escape.
VERSE 43. But he will have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. The Libyans and the Ethiopians will be at his steps.
VERSE 44. But news out of the east and out of the north will trouble him; and he will go out with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.
with great fury. That is, rage. More rage.
to destroy. The Enemy is a Thief. He steals and kills and destroys. Read more »
VERSE 45. He will plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
DANIEL
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12
Deuterocanonical chapters: Song of the Three Children, 13, 14
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, First Fast, Second Fast
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.