The Book of Daniel Part 11 / Ladies Studies

Ladies Bible Study

The Book of Daniel

Relevance for Today

Part 11 “The Vision in History”

We are entering the end of our study in the Book of Daniel. It is a fascinating book.

We have learned about parts of the history of the Nation of Israel and we have been introduced to prophecy of historical events surrounding both the Gentile and Hebrew nations, but also prophecy of future events in the end times. It has been a wonderfully rich study into God’s Word.

Today’s lesson is a continuation of last month’s lesson. We are continuing to study Daniel’s last vision, which encompasses the last three chapters of the Book, ten, eleven and twelve. It is a long complicated vision and as you read our Scripture selection for this lesson you might be tempted to shake your head and say “what did I just read?” I know I did! I have done a lot of studying, meditating and praying on just how to teach this session and I believe with the Lord’s guidance can make it as simple as I can.

It is full of Israel’s history, but I will try not to “drown you” in it. We will divide the eleventh chapter into two parts beginning with the first part today. The reason I am doing this is because this part of the chapter is fulfilled historical prophecy, by that I mean it was unfilled when given to Daniel but was completely fulfilled as time went by. Daniel did not live to see it’s completion but as we look back and study it, it is history to us. Many scholars want to use this section of Daniel to dispute the authorship of the book. Siting the accuracy of its details as reason for someone other than Daniel to have written the book after this part of World History marched by. These people obviously do not believe in the awesome complete power of God Almighty and God’s mighty plan for the salvation of man. I however do believe and so I can teach this as fulfilled prophecy with no problem at all!

So, let’s begin. Please open your Bible to Daniel Chapter 11.

Daniel 11:1-35: "Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) 2. "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 3. "Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4. "And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these. 5. "Then the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6. "And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.

"But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail.
"And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North. 9. "Then the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10. "However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife. 11. "And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.
"When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13. "For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. 14. "And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South; also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. 15. "So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.
"But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.
"He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him. 18. "After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him.

"Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20. "There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. 21. "And 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 intrigue. 22. "With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23. "And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24. "He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. 25. "He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26. "Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27. "Both these kings' hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28. "While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land. 29. "At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30. "For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31. "And 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. 32. "Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33. "And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34. "Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35. "And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purge them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

Okay, let’s break this down. Why did God include this complicated information in Daniel’s vision? The answer is very simple, because it all involves Israel or the “Beautiful Land”. It also bridges the gap between the Old and New Testament as most of this takes place during that time frame. Let’s take it in small sections and see how it fulfills history.

Daniel 11:1-2: "Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) 2. "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

If we go back to the end of Chapter 10, it is the Angel Gabriel speaking. This is a continuation of His conversation with Daniel. He is saying that in the first year of Darius the Mede’s rule of Babylon, God sent Him, the Angel Gabriel to strengthen Darius. Let’s look at our chart and see who these three other Kings besides Darius are. Please refer to your chart for further information and comments. I hope the way I have broken this down will be helpful and easier to study.

Chart Reference for Daniel 11:1-35

Daniel ll:1-2 Cambyses 529 BC

Pseudo-Smerdis 522 BC

Darius Hystaspis 521 BC

Xerxes 521 BC --

(Xerxes is believed by many to be the King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther, He was the richest by far and the most powerful. He led a campaign against Greece in 480 BC, was defeated thus ending the world dominion of the Persian Empire.)

Daniel 11:3-4 Alexander the Great

(As we discussed in Lesson 7, Alexander is the leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. The Greek Empire was also represented by the belly and thighs of brass of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. You will also remember that Alexander died after he conquered the know world in 4 years and His kingdom was divided between His four generals, not his sons or posterity.)

The Four Generals Cassander – Macedonia

Lysimachus – Asia Minor

Seleucus Nicator – Syria and

the remainder of the middle

east.

Ptolemy - Egypt

(There is constant war among the generals for control of the area, as we will see as we study further verses.

In Old Testament writings, Israel was the center of the world. It was the center of the compass so to speak. All map directions were either north, south, east or west of Israel.

It is important to understand that, in discussing the remainder of these verses.)

Daniel 11:5-6 Ptolemy Philadelphus

of Egypt

Antiochus Theos of Syria

(The King of the South Ptolemy Philadelphus in order to make peace with the King of the North, Antiochus Theos gave his daughter Berenice in marriage. In order for Antiochus Theos to marry Berenice and fulfill the treaty, he had to divorce his wife Laodice. Very shortly after that Ptolemy Philadelphus died, Antiochus Theos put Berenice aside and remarried Laodice. (What a “soap opera”!) Laodice, not being a forgiving woman poisoned Antiochus Theos and had Berenice and her children killed. Laodice put her son Seleucus Callinicus on the throne. This brings us to verse seven)

Daniel 11:7-8 Ptolemy Euergetes –brother

of Berenice

(Ptolemy Euergetes to avenge Berenice and to control the geographical area attacked the King of the north, and took the port of Antioch. If you read ahead from verses 9-13 you will see the victory he accomplished. History records that Ptolemy Euergetes took into Egypt much bounty, including forty thousand talents of silver and twenty five hundred idols.)

Daniel 11-9-14: Various Kings of the Ptolemy

empire and the Seleucid empire

(This is a very violent involved period of Isreal History, the back and forth struggle between the Egyptian and Syrian Kings for control of the area, including Isreal. The important verse for us is verse 14. “"And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South; also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall.” Many Israelis will choose sides and die in this bloody period of time.)

Daniel 11:15-16 Antiochus the Great

(This tells us of the victory of Antiochus the Great over Egypt and the terrible toll it took on Israel. The important part to us is in verse 16: “He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.” Antiochus will wreck havoc in Israel ending a 125 year period of war.)

Daniel 11:17 Antiochus the Great

Ptolemy Epiphanes

(Antiochus the Great makes a treaty with Ptolemy Epiphanes of Egypt and gives his daughter Cleopatra I in marriage. This is the first Cleopatra mentioned, the historical one we are all familiar with through Hollywood and films is Cleopatra IV.

She is given to Ptolemy Epiphanes in marriage to control him and the kingdom for her father Antiochus the Great. However, she falls in love with her husband and betrays her father.)

Daniel 11:18-20 Rome arises

(Antiochus the Great starts a two front war, with Egypt to the south and Greece to the west. He will be driven back by the Roman army and will start the trek home. However, something happens, we don’t know what and he disappears from the scene. Rome continues its push eastward, taxing all lands it conquers.)

Daniel 11:21-28 Seleucus IV Philapater, brother, of Antiochus Epiphanes

Introduction of Antiochus

Epiphanes

( Seleucus IV Philapater and Antiochus Epiphanes were the sons of Antiochus the Great. Seleucus IV Philapater leads for only a little while, collects taxes to pay Rome, sends someone to try to rob the Temple of its money. Divine intervention prevents this according to the writings of The Macabees. He is eventually killed by his younger brother Antiochus Epiphanes, who comes in with the appearance of good will and peace, making a Covenant with the High Priest Onias III. He will eventually break it, speaking blasphemies against the most High God. He will also appear benevolent by sharing the spoils of battle with the Israelis something no other king has done.

We must bear in mind that this is a foreshadowing of the Antichrist, Revelations and Daniel tells us that he will speak peace, make a Covenant with Isreal which he will break 31/2 years into the tribulation.

During this time period Antiochus Epiphanes will become richer and stronger and once again attack Egypt, he will have the support of Israelis who will betray their country. He will not be entirely successful and will end up making a treaty with The King of Egypt, at which time they will both sit down at peace talks and frankly lie to each other. Antiochus Epiphanes will return to Israel angry and take his wrath out on the Jewish nation, killing many.

Daniel 11:29-35: Continuation of reign of terror

of Antiochus Epiphanes

We will close with the end of Antiochus Epiphanes who was conquered and humiliated by the Roman Commander Gaius Popilius Laenas, described in verse 30, “he will be grieved in heart, another translation says, loose heart.

(Antiochus Epiphanes went against Egypt, but was stopped by the might of the Roman navy, “For ships from Cyprus shall come against him.” He was filled with fury over this defeat and wrecked havoc in Jerusalem. He pillaged Jerusalem, polluted the sanctuary by offering a pig on the altar and pouring pig broth on it and erected a statue of Jupiter in the temple. It is during this time that the Macabees are the strongest, stirred by this abomination. They will turn to Rome for help, which will provide a short term solution, but will result in destruction eventually.

All of this is foreshadowing of the antichrist. Revelations tells us, as Daniel 7 that he will desecrate the rebuilt temple, set himself up as God and be worshipped in the last part of

the tribulation. (See Revelations 13, Matthew 24:15)

Daniel 11:32: 32. "Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

This is a very familiar passage, I hope you take it to heart. The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits! This in my mind in history referred to the Macabees and those courageous men who opposed the tyranny over “the Beautiful Land”

at this time. But it is also very applicable to us today. For those of us who know our God, in intimate and personal relationship, we will do great exploits. Praise God!!