DANIEL — LESSON 14

Scriptures for Lesson 14 are taken from Daniel 11.

In Daniel Lesson 13, the date was about 536 BC and Daniel was given another vision concerning the Nation of Israel. Daniel was so upset that he had been fasting and mourning for 21 days. This was during the time of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Angel Gabriel came to give him understanding of the vision but he was called away to Babylon to deal with the forces of Satan over the activities of the Persian King. The situation was so difficult that the Angel Michael was called to assist Gabriel. Gabriel told Daniel that he would soon have to return to do further battle with these forces when the Greeks took over the Persian Empire.

We will study Daniel Chapter 11 in two parts, verses 1-20 and then 21-45. The prophecy was not from Daniel but from God. In Daniel 11:1-20, Gabriel gives Daniel understanding of the remaining four kings that would rule over the Persian Kingdom and the Kings that would rule over the Kingdom of Greece. These nations would rule over Israel in their near future.

[Daniel 11:1-3] (1) And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him. (2) “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. (3) Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.

Gabriel told Daniel that he took a stand to support Darius the Mede when he first came to power which was 539 BC. It was 536 BC when Gabriel came to give Daniel this information. He says that 4 more kings are going to rule in Persia and then the Kingdom of Greece would take over the empire led by a mighty king who would do as he pleases. This was the prophecy.

History tells us that there were four more kings who ruled over the Persian Empire: Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius Hystapes, and Xerxes (also called Ahasuearus). Traditionally Xerxes I or Ahaseuarus was the King of the Persians and the husband of Queen Esther who reigned from 486 to 465 BC. That is about the right time period for this prophecy.

[Esther 1:1-3] (1) This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: (2) At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, (3) and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials.

The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. Xerxes ruled from Susa which is a city in Persia. The 127 provinces are the territories of the Persian Empire. It is likely that this huge banquet that Ahasuearus or Xerxes gave for all his governors over the Empire was to raise money to finance a campaign against Greece. In 480 BC Xerxes I fought Greece in the Bay of Salamis. The Battle of Salamis was in 480 BC and Xerxes I reigned from 485 to 465 BC so it must have been Xerxes I. A leading statesman of Athens at the time was a general named Themistocles. He believed that the smaller Athenian ships could defeat the larger heavier ships of the Persians. On his throne of gold overlooking the Bay of Salamis, Xerxes watched as the big, clumsy Persian ships ran into each other and were disabled so that the smaller, lighter Grecian ships were able to defeat his army.

[Daniel 11:3-4] (3) Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. (4.4 After he has appeared, his empire 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 power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

The mighty king who would arise was Alexander the Great, from Macedonia which became part of the Empire of Greece. In 331 BC Alexander took Babylon. At the age of 33 he died in Babylon. Some historians say he was poisoned, some say he died of pneumonia, no one really knows for sure. Following his death, his empire was not given to his young sons but was divided among his four major generals Alexander the Great’s empire was divided into four nations following his death. Antigonus became the ruler of Macedonia; Lysimachus ruled over Asia or Asia Minor; Seleucus ruled Syria and Ptolemy ruled over Egypt.

[Daniel 11:5-6] (5) “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. (6) After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his powerwill not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

The rest of the prophecy focuses on the King of the North which was Seleucus who ruled over Syria and the King of the South who was Ptolemy I who ruled over Egypt. The reason the prophecy focuses on these two is because they are the ones that will affect Israel. Remember the prophesies are concerned about Israel. Verse 5 describes a power struggle between Seleucus who was joined by Ptolemy I of Egypt and together they defeated Antigonus , making Seleucus in control of all the lands from Asia to India. In verse 6 the prophecy is about the King of the South or Egypt in 285 BC who was Ptolemy II Philadelphus whose daughter was Berenice. A marriage was arranged between Berenice and Antiochus II Theos, King of Asia to make an alliance between Asia and Egypt. Antiochus II Theos already had a wife, Laodiceia whom he was forced to divorce in the alliance. After a few years, Ptolemy II died. Antiochus then took back his first wife. But the first wife was very bitter about having been set aside so she murdered her husband, Antiochus and his Egyptian wife, Berenice as well as their infant son.

[Daniel 11:6-9] (6) After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. (7) “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. (8) He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. (9) Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.

In 246 BC there was a new King in Egypt, Ptolemy II Euergetes who defeated the King of the north or Asia, Seleucus Callinicus. He took princes hostage and spoils of idols, silver and gold. In 217 BC, Asia attacked Egypt but was defeated. Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.

[Daniel 11:10-19] (10) His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. (11) “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. (12) When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. (13) For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. (14) “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. (15) Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. (16) The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. (17) He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. (18) Then he will turn his attention to the coast lands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. (19) After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

The battles between Asia and Egypt continued for about 50 years. This passage describes a series of attacks on Egypt by Antiochus the Great, King of Asia. This Antiochus was very ambitious and he went after Greece where he was defeated. He was succeeded by Seleucus IV Philopater, who was then succeeded by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the terrible persecutor of the Jews. His actions are prophesied in Daniel 11:21-35 which we will study next week.

[Daniel 11:20] (20) “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

The king that this prophecy described was Seleucus IV Philopator, the King of Asia. At that time the Asians were being pressed by the Romans to pay heavy taxes of 1,000 talents each year. To raise this money Seleucus levied heavy taxes over all the provinces under his rule which included the Jews. He hired a tax collector named Heliodorus to collect from the Jews who was told to plunder the temple. Shortly after this happened, Seleucus disappeared. His demise opened the door for Antiochus Epiphanes. Through this passage I have attempted to give you the prophecy given in Daniel and the historical events that happened and fulfilled the prophecy. You can see the accuracy and minute details of the prophecy that were so accurately fulfilled in history which gave fuel to the theory that Daniel was written about 100 BC after the persecutions of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes. But I stand with my earlier statement; the prophecy came from God through the Angel Gabriel, not from Daniel.

What we learn from Daniel 11:1-20 is that all scripture is true and given by God.

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