Daniel11

Daniel 11 details a long series of conflicts between the "King of the North" and the "King of the South," representing the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. It prophesies the rise of a "vile person" (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) who will desecrate the temple and persecute God's people. The chapter concludes with a prophecy of a future king who exalts himself above all gods, leading to a final conflict and his ultimate demise.

The Angel's Confirmation

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however, I was already standing up to support and help Daryavesh the Mede in the first year of his reign. ​

Persia and the Rise of Greece

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What I am going to tell you now is true. "Three kings will arise in Persia, followed by a fourth, who will be far wealthier than all of them; and when he has grown strong by means of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. ​
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"Then a powerful king will appear who will rule a vast kingdom and do whatever he pleases. ​
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But once he appears, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven. It won't be inherited by his descendants, and it won't be ruled with the power he had, because his kingship will be uprooted and will pass to others than his own posterity. ​

The Kings of the South and North

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"The king in the south will be strong, and one of his princes will gain power over him and have dominion; his domain will be a great dominion. ​
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After a number of years they will form an alliance. The daughter of the king of the south will approach the king of the north to make an agreement, but she won't retain her power; and he and his power won't last either. Rather, she will be surrendered, along with her attendants, her father and the one who supported her during those times. ​
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But another branch from the same roots as hers will appear in her father's place. He will attack the army of the king of the north, enter his fortress and succeed in conquering them. ​
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He will also carry off as booty to Egypt their gods, their cast metal images and their valuable gold and silver vessels. Then for some years, he will refrain from attacking the king of the north. ​
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"Afterwards, the king of the north will invade the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will retire to his own land.
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His sons will rouse themselves to muster a large and powerful army, which will advance like a flood passing through. In another campaign, it will march on the enemy stronghold. ​
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The king of the south, enraged, will set out to do battle with the king of the north, who, in turn, will muster a large army; but this army will be defeated by his enemy ​
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and carried off. The conqueror will grow proud as he slaughters tens of thousands, yet he will not prevail. ​
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Rather, the king of the north will again muster an army, larger than the first one, at the end of this period, after a number of years; it will be a large, well-supplied army. ​
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Those will be times in which many will resist the king of the south; and the more violent ones among your own people will rebel in order to fulfill their vision; but they will fail. ​
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"Then the king of the north will come, set up siege-works and capture a fortified city; the forces of the south will be insufficient defense, even his elite troops will not be strong enough to resist. ​
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The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to withstand him. So he will establish himself in the Land of Glory, and he will have the power to destroy it. ​
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He will determinedly advance with the full force of his kingdom, but he will make an agreement with the king of the south and give him a daughter in marriage. His object will be to destroy him, but the agreement will not last or work out in his favor. ​
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Next, he will put his attention on the coastlands and islands and capture many, but an army commander will put a stop to his outrages and cause his outrages to come back upon him. ​
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After this, he will put his attention on the strongholds in his own land; but he will stumble, fall and not be seen again.
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"In his place will arise one who will send a tax collector through the Glorious Kingdom; but within a few days, he will be broken, though neither in anger nor in battle. ​

The Rise of the Vile Person (Antiochus IV)

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"There will arise in his place a despicable man not entitled to inherit the majesty of the kingdom, but he will come without warning and gain the kingdom by intrigue. ​
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Large armies will be broken and swept away before him, as well as the prince of the covenant. ​
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Alliances will be made with him, but he will undermine them by deceit. Then, although he will have but a small following, he will emerge and become strong.
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Without warning, he will assail the most powerful men in each province and do things his predecessors never did, either recently or in the distant past; he will reward them with plunder, spoil and wealth while devising plots against their strongholds, but only for a time. ​
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"He will summon his power and courage against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south will fight back with a very large and powerful army; but he will not succeed, because of plots devised against him.
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Yes, those who shared his food will destroy him; his army will be swept away; and many will fall in the slaughter.
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These two kings, bent on mischief, will sit at the same table, speaking lies to each other; but none of this will succeed; because the appointed end will not have come yet. ​
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Then the king of the north will return to his own land with great wealth; with his heart set against the holy covenant, he will take action and then return home. ​
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"At the time designated, he will come back to the south. But this time, things will turn out differently than before;
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because ships from Kittim will come against him, so that his courage will fail him. Then, in retreat, he will take furious action against the holy covenant, again showing favor to those who abandon the holy covenant. ​

The Abomination of Desolation

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Armed forces will come at his order and profane the sanctuary and fortress. They will abolish the daily burnt offering and set up the abomination that causes desolation. ​
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Those who act wickedly against the covenant he will corrupt with his blandishments, but the people who know their God will stand firm and prevail. ​
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Those among the people who have discernment will cause the rest of the people to understand what is happening; nevertheless, for a while they will fall victim to sword, fire, exile and pillage. ​
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When they stumble, they will receive a little help, although many who join them will be insincere.
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Even some of those with discernment will stumble, so that some of them will be refined, purified and cleansed for an end yet to come at the designated time. ​

The King of the End Times

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"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and he will utter monstrous blasphemies against the God of gods. He will prosper only until the period of wrath is over, for what has been determined must take place. ​
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He will show no respect for the gods his ancestors worshipped, or for the god women worship - he won't show respect for any god, because he will consider himself greater than all of them. ​
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But instead, he will honor the god of strongholds; with gold, silver, precious stones and other costly things he will honor a god unknown to his ancestors. ​
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He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will confer honor on those he acknowledges, causing them to rule over many and distributing land as a reward.

The Final Campaign

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"When the time for the end comes, the king of the south will push at him; while the king of the north will attack him like a whirlwind, with chariots, cavalry and a large navy. He will invade countries, overrun them and move on. ​
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He will also enter the Land of Glory, and many [countries] will come to grief, but these will be saved from his power - Edom, Mo'av and the people of 'Amon. ​
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He will reach out his hand to seize other countries too. The land of Egypt will not escape -
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he will control the treasures of gold and silver, as well as everything else in Egypt of value. Put and Ethiopia will be subject to him.
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However, news from the east and north will frighten him, so that he moves out in great fury to ruin and completely do away with many. ​
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Finally, when he pitches the tents of his palace between the seas and the mountain of the holy Glory, he will come to his end, with no one to help him. ​

Study Notes for Daniel 11

Verse 1

This verse links the current vision (begun in Dan. 10) to the previous reign of Darius the Mede, affirming the angel’s role as a divine messenger supporting God’s appointed rulers. The angel provides strength and confirmation for the unfolding prophetic history.

Verse 2

The three kings are generally identified as Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis, and Darius I. The fourth, 'far richer,' is Xerxes I, who launched a massive, unsuccessful invasion against Greece (c. 480 BC), fulfilling the prophecy to 'stir up all against the realm of Grecia.'

Verse 3

This 'mighty king' is universally understood to be Alexander the Great (336–323 BC), who conquered the Persian Empire rapidly and ruled with absolute authority.

Verse 4

Alexander’s kingdom was broken immediately upon his death, divided among his generals (the Diadochi) rather than inherited by his own lineage, fulfilling the prophecy of division 'toward the four winds of heaven.'

Verse 5

This verse begins the detailed account of the wars between the two most significant successor kingdoms: the King of the South (the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt) and the King of the North (the Seleucid dynasty in Syria and Mesopotamia). The king of the south here is Ptolemy I Soter; the strong prince is Seleucus I Nicator.

Verse 6

This refers to the political marriage (c. 252 BC) of Berenice (Ptolemaic princess, King of the South’s daughter) to Antiochus II (Seleucid King of the North). The alliance failed quickly; Berenice, her child, and her attendants were murdered, leading to the Third Syrian War.

Verse 7

The 'branch of her roots' is Ptolemy III Euergetes, Berenice’s brother, who successfully invaded the Seleucid territory (the fortress of the King of the North) to avenge his sister’s death.

Verse 8

Ptolemy III returned to Egypt with immense booty, including idols and vessels taken from the Seleucid Empire, and outlived Seleucus II Callinicus.

Verse 10

The sons of the King of the North (Seleucus III and Antiochus III 'the Great') assembled massive forces to retaliate against the Ptolemies, leading to the Fourth Syrian War.

Verse 11

This describes the Battle of Raphia (217 BC), where Ptolemy IV Philopator (King of the South) defeated Antiochus III (King of the North), despite the Seleucid army being larger.

Verse 12

Ptolemy IV’s victory led to arrogance and internal weakness in Egypt, preventing him from capitalizing on his success and ultimately setting the stage for Antiochus III's later return.

Verse 13

Antiochus III returned with a greater force (the Fifth Syrian War) 14 years after Raphia, seeking to recover lost territories.

Verse 14

The 'robbers of thy people' are Jewish factions who sided with Antiochus III against the Ptolemies, believing that supporting the Seleucids would fulfill God's vision of national restoration, but they were ultimately disappointed.

Verse 15

Antiochus III’s victory at the Battle of Paneas (200 BC) allowed him to permanently annex Judea (the 'glorious land') from the Ptolemies.

Verse 16

Antiochus III now controlled Judea ('the glorious land'), which suffered from the continuous warfare between the major powers.

Verse 17

Antiochus III attempted to neutralize Egypt by offering his daughter, Cleopatra I, in marriage to Ptolemy V. He intended for her to be a spy, but she sided with her husband, frustrating her father’s plans.

Verse 18

Antiochus III then turned to expansion in the Mediterranean ('the isles'), but his advance was checked by the rising Roman power ('a prince'), specifically Scipio Asiaticus, who defeated Antiochus at Magnesia (190 BC).

Verse 20

This successor is Seleucus IV Philopator, who ruled under the heavy financial burden imposed by the Romans (the 'raiser of taxes'). He was assassinated by his minister Heliodorus, 'neither in anger, nor in battle.'

Verse 21

This verse introduces Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the most notorious historical figure in the prophecy. He gained the throne through trickery and flattery, circumventing the legitimate heir (his nephew Demetrius).

Verse 22

Antiochus IV overcame all opposition. The 'prince of the covenant' likely refers to the legitimate High Priest Onias III, whom Antiochus removed and later had murdered (2 Maccabees 4:33-35).

Verse 24

Antiochus IV was known for his extravagant generosity and lavish gifts, using plunder to buy loyalty—a tactic unseen in previous Seleucid kings.

Verse 27

This describes a peace conference between Antiochus IV and Ptolemy VI, where both parties deceitfully negotiated while plotting against the other. The outcome was fixed by God's timetable: 'the end shall be at the time appointed.'

Verse 28

Returning from his first Egyptian campaign (170 BC), Antiochus IV vented his frustration over the inconclusive war by attacking Jerusalem, slaughtering many, and plundering the Temple treasures.

Verse 30

During his second Egyptian campaign (168 BC), Antiochus IV was confronted by the 'ships of Chittim' (Roman envoys led by Gaius Popillius Laenas). Rome demanded his immediate withdrawal, forcing him to retreat in humiliation.

Verse 31

Furious over the Roman humiliation, Antiochus IV unleashed his wrath on Judea. He sent forces to defile the Temple, stop the daily sacrifices, and install a pagan altar (the 'abomination that maketh desolate'), fulfilling the great persecution.

Verse 32

This highlights the contrast: those who abandon the covenant were corrupted, while the loyal Jews (the Maccabees and their followers) resisted and performed 'exploits' of faithfulness and courage.

Verse 33

The faithful teachers suffered martyrdom during the persecution, but their suffering served the greater purpose of instructing and strengthening others during the 'many days' of tribulation.

Verse 35

The suffering and falling of the faithful served a refining purpose ('to try them, and to purge, and to make them white'), continuing until the predetermined 'time of the end' for that specific period of trial.

Verse 36

The prophecy now shifts focus from the historical Antiochus IV to an ultimate, eschatological figure (often identified as the Antichrist). This 'King' will exhibit the same hubris as Antiochus, magnifying himself above all gods, until God’s final judgment arrives.

Verse 37

This king will reject both ancestral religion and any deity honored by others. The phrase 'desire of women' is difficult, possibly referring to marriage (family continuity), the goddess Ishtar, or even the promised Messiah, who is the 'desire' of Israel.

Verse 38

Instead of traditional gods, this king will worship 'the God of forces' (or 'fortresses' / 'might'), suggesting the deification of military power, strength, and conquest.

Verse 40

The 'time of the end' marks the beginning of the final global conflict. The imagery of the King of the North’s massive invasion describes a swift, overwhelming military action against the King of the South.

Verse 41

The Glorious Land (Israel) will be invaded, but certain surrounding nations—Edom, Moab, and Ammon—are prophetically marked as escaping his immediate control, perhaps indicating their geographical position or a specific role in the final events.

Verse 44

News from the east and north (possibly other world powers) interrupts the King’s control over the captured territories, provoking him to launch a final, destructive campaign against many nations.

Verse 45

The King establishes his headquarters in Jerusalem, between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. This act of ultimate defiance precedes his swift and final destruction, marking the end of human tyranny.

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