Daniel 11:1-45

The Men who were Loyal to God

Daniel

Robert Bryce

Chapter 11

v1 ‘Since the first year that Darius from Media ruled, I supported him’, he continued. ‘And I helped him.’

Verse 1 This is really part of chapter 10. The man told Daniel that he helped Michael. This happened when the *Medes and *Persians defeated the *Babylonians. Then Darius became king.

v2 ‘Now I will explain the truth to you’, he said. ‘There will be three more kings in Persia and then a fourth king will come. He will be richer than all the other kings. He will become powerful because of his wealth. Then he will cause everybody to become angry with the *kingdom called Greece.’

Verses 2 The man had promised to tell Daniel what would happen in the future. So he started to explain. He told Daniel about kings who would come. These things have now happened. So we know that he told Daniel the truth.

There would be other kings after Darius. Then a very rich king would come. We believe that this was king Xerxes. We read about him in the book called Esther in the Bible. He used his great wealth to set up a large army. Then he attacked Greece, but he was not successful.

v3 ‘Then a very strong king will come’, he continued. ‘He will rule with great power. And he will do whatever he wants. v4 After he comes, suddenly his *kingdom will break into 4 parts. It will divide to the north, south, east and west. His children and grandchildren will not rule his *kingdom. Other people will rule his *kingdom, but they will not be as powerful.’

Verses 3-4 Soon another great king came. He was the king of Greece. He is usually called Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:21). He died when he was only 32 years old. His sons also died when they were still young. So they did not follow him as king when he died. Instead, his *kingdom broke up. His army officers became the kings of four smaller *kingdoms. They were not as powerful as Alexander (Daniel 8:22).

v5 ‘Then the king in the south will become strong, but one of his officers will become even stronger. He will take control of the *kingdom and he will be very powerful.’

Verse 5 The man told Daniel about the kings of two of the *kingdoms. The king in the south was the king of Egypt. His name was Ptolemy and he was powerful. Another army officer became the king in the north. He was the king of Syria and his name was Seleucus. He was even more powerful.

Then the man told Daniel about the wars between these *kingdoms. The kings of Egypt used the name Ptolemy. Some of the kings of Syria used the name Seleucus. Some used the name Antiochus, because Antioch was their capital city.

v6 The man continued, ‘After some years, the king in the south and the king in the north will make an agreement. The daughter of the king in the south will marry the king in the north in order to make peace. But the plan will fail and they will lose their power. Someone will kill her and her husband and her child and her servants.’

Verse 6 Antiochus II Theos, the king of Syria, divorced his wife Laodicea. Then he married Bernice who was the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the king of Egypt. But somebody murdered them. It may have been Antiochus’s previous wife or her son.

v7 ‘Later, someone from her family will become king in the south. He will attack the army of the king in the north and he will enter the strong city. He will fight against them and he will defeat them. v8 He will *seize the images of their gods and their valuable gold and silver dishes. He will take these things back to the country called Egypt. Then for several years, he will not attack the king in the north again.’

Verses 7-8 Later a brother of Bernice became king of Egypt. He was called Ptolemy III Euergetes. He defeated the king of Syria, Seleucus II Callinicus, in a war. Then there were no wars for a time.

v9 ‘After that, the king in the north will attack the country where the king in the south lives. But they will force him to return to his own country. v10 Then his sons will prepare for war. They will gather a large army, which will go to the south as powerfully as a flood. The army will attack the strong city of the king in the south. v11 Then the king in the south will be angry. He will bring out his army to fight the king from the north. Although the king from the north has gathered a large army, the king in the south will defeat him. v12 When the king in the south has overcome this large army, he will become proud. He will kill many thousands of people, but he will not continue to be successful.’

Verses 9-12 Later, Seleucus III Soter, the king of Syria, attacked Ptolemy IV Philopator the king of Egypt. And then he returned home. Then the sons of the king of Syria gathered a large army. One of them died, but the other one led the army to attack Egypt. He was called Antiochus III The Great.

Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, was very angry. His army won the battle although it was not as strong. This made the king of Egypt very proud. He was successful in battle, but only for a certain time.

v13 ‘The king from the north will gather a large army again. It will be even bigger than the previous army was. After a few years, he will come back with his larger army. And this army will have all the equipment that it needs to attack other countries. v14 At that time, many people will oppose the king in the south. And the fierce men from your own people will oppose him too. This is what the dream declares. But they will fail. v15 Then the king from the north will come. He will heap up earth round a strong city. He will overcome the city because the army in the south will not be able to oppose him. Even their best soldiers will not be strong enough to succeed against him. v16 The king from the north will do whatever he wants to do. Nobody will be able to oppose him. He will stand in the Beautiful Country and he will have the power to destroy it.’

Verses 13-16 A few years passed. Then Antiochus III The Great attacked Ptolemy IV Philopator, the king of Egypt. Antiochus had a large army that had plenty of equipment. Many people, even some *Jews, helped Antiochus to attack Egypt. Antiochus defeated Ptolemy the king of Egypt and Antiochus became very powerful. He did what he wanted, even in the Beautiful Country. This is the country that God promised to his people the *Jews (Genesis 13:14-17).

v17 ‘Then the king from the north will decide to go further south with his whole army. He will offer to make an agreement for peace with the king in the south. He will give a daughter to marry the king in the south. His real plan is to destroy the king’s rule, but his plan will fail.’

Verse 17 The king of Syria, Antiochus III The Great, tried to defeat Egypt completely. He had a new plan. He gave his daughter, Cleopatra, to marry Ptolemy V Epiphanes, the new king of Egypt. But his plan failed. Cleopatra was more loyal to her husband than she was to her father.

v18 ‘Afterwards he will turn and attack the nations by the sea. He will *seize many of those nations, but one leader will defeat him. He will even make the king from the north sorry for his insults. v19 Then the king from the north will return to the strong cities in his own country. But he will lose a battle and he will disappear.’

Verses 18-19 Then Antiochus III The Great decided to attack Greece. General Scipio led an army from Rome and defeated him. Antiochus returned to his own country. His power had gone.

v20 He continued, ‘The next king in the north will try to increase his *kingdom’s wealth. He will send out someone to collect taxes, but soon he will die. This will happen in secret and not in a battle.’

Verse 20 Seleucus IV Philopator became the next king of Syria. He had large debts that he could not pay. He did not rule for very long. His officials killed him.

v21 ‘The person who comes after him will be very nasty. He will have no right to be a king. And he will come when nobody expects him. He will cheat in order to become king. v22 He will overcome great armies and he will destroy them. He will even kill the prince of the promise. v23 He will make an agreement with people from other nations, but he will tell them lies. He will become powerful, although not many people support him. v24 He will attack the richest districts when they do not expect it. He will do things that his father and grandfathers did not do. He will *seize valuable things and property in war and he will share them with his people. And he will plot to overcome strong cities. But this will only happen for a short time.’

Verses 21-24 The next king of Syria was a very unpleasant king. He was called Antiochus IV Epiphanes. His name meant a god who had become a man. Some of his people called him Antiochus Empimanes. That means mad man.

We know about the other kings from history. The things that the man told Daniel did happen. But the man told Daniel some things about Antiochus that we do not know from history.

He became king because he cheated. And he told lies. Then he defeated other nations for the same reasons. He was a very powerful king who did evil things. He did worse things than the kings before him did. But God only allowed him to do this for a certain time.

v25 ‘He will feel strong and brave against the king in the south because he has a large army. And the king in the south will fight back with a large and powerful army. But the king in the south will not succeed, because people will plot against him. v26 Even those who share his royal food will try to kill him. His army will disappear and many soldiers will die. v27 These two kings will want to do evil things. They will sit together at the same table but they will tell lies to each other. Their plans will not succeed because God has decided the time of the end already.’

Verses 25-27 Antiochus IV Epiphanes had a large army and he wanted to defeat Egypt. Ptolemy V Epiphanes, the king of Egypt, also had a large army, but some of his people were not loyal. So Antiochus defeated him. The two kings met, but they told lies to each other. God’s plans were greater than their plans.

v28 ‘The king from the north will return to his own country with great wealth. He will hate those who *worship the real God. He will do whatever he wants to do against them. Then he will continue his journey back to his own country.’

Verse 28 On his way home, Antiochus had to pass through the country that God gave to the *Jews. He hated the real God. He also hated those who gave honour to the real God.

v29 ‘At the time that God has appointed, he will go to the south again. This time he will not succeed. v30 People from the west will come in ships and they will oppose him. He will be afraid and he will turn back. He will be angry with people who *worship the real God. He will try to destroy their belief. He will give benefits to those people who have turned against God. v31 He will send some of his soldiers into God’s strong and holy place to make it dirty. Then it will not be holy any longer. They will not allow people to offer gifts to God any longer. They will put the awful thing in there. v32 The king will tell lies to the people who are not loyal to God. Then they will support the king. The people who are loyal to God will not listen to the king. They will stand firm and they will oppose him. v33 The wise leaders will teach the people, but some of them will suffer. People will kill some of them with swords or people will burn them. People will rob them and they will put some of them in prison. v34 When God’s people are dying, they will receive a little help. Many people will join them, but they will not be sincere people. v35 Some of the wise people will die, so that God’s people will become pure (holy). Then they will be perfect, as God wants at the end. God has decided when the end shall be.’

Verses 29-35 Later, Antiochus attacked Egypt again. This time he was not successful, because the *Romans opposed him. He turned back and went into the country of the *Jews. He hated the *Jews and their God. Perhaps the *Jews had asked the *Romans to help them. Antiochus tried to stop anyone from serving the real God. He was cruel to the people who loved God. But he listened to those people who were not loyal to God. He did not allow the people to make *sacrifices to God. He made God’s holy places so that they were not holy.

Some people stayed loyal to God. They tried to teach other people to be loyal too. Many people died because they were loyal to God. God will reward these people in heaven. He only allowed Antiochus to do his evil things for a certain time. This lasted for about 6 years.

v36 The man continued, ‘This king will do whatever he wants to do. He will say proudly that he is greater than any god. He will even say awful insults against the real God. He will be successful until God is not angry with his people any longer. God will do what he has decided. v37 This king will not care about the gods that his father and grandfathers *worshipped. He will not care about the god that women love. He will think that he is greater than any of the gods. v38 Instead, he will give honour to the god that protects strong cities. His father and grandfathers did not give honour to such a god. But he will give gold, silver, precious stones and valuable gifts to that god. v39 People who give honour to this foreign god will help him to fight in strong cities. Then he will reward those people who give honour to his god. He will let them rule over many people and he will share the land with them. v40 In the end, the king from the south will attack him. The king in the north will fight back like a storm. He will have soldiers on horses and many ships. He will attack many countries and he will go through them as powerfully as a flood. v41 He will also attack the Beautiful Country and he will kill many thousands of the people there. But the people in the countries called Edom and Moab and the leaders from Ammon will escape from him. v42 He will have power over many countries, including the country called Egypt. v43 He will *seize all the gold, silver and other precious things in Egypt. He will overcome the countries called Libya and Cush also. v44 But he will be worried when he hears news from the north and the east. So he will be very angry. And then he will go and kill many people. v45 He will put his royal tents between the sea and the holy mountain. But he will die there and nobody will help him.’

Verses 36-45 The man seemed to go on telling Daniel about the same king. But then he talked about things that Antiochus Epiphanes did not do. It seems that he was telling Daniel about another person. That person would come at the end of the world. Paul, who lived a long time after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, wrote similar things (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). This person would do evil things like Antiochus Epiphanes did. But he would do even more evil things.

Since the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, many other evil men have lived. Many of them hated God and his people. The man who will come at the end of the world will be even worse. He will say that he is greater than any God, even the real God. He will set himself up in God’s holy place. He will speak against the real God. He will reward those people who do not give honour to the real God. He will attack many countries and he will have power over them. He will also attack the country of the *Jews.

He will be successful for a certain time. But then the time that God has planned will come. God will show his anger and he will kill this evil person.

Mede ~ a person from Media, a nation at the time of Daniel.
Persian ~ someone or something from a country called Persia in Daniel’s time; it is called Iran today.
Babylonian ~ someone or something from a place called Babylon.
kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.
seize ~ to take objects away after a battle; to overcome a city or a country.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes what Jews believe. It is also a name for people from Judah and Israel.
worship ~ to show honour to someone superior; to respect God; to praise and serve God; to tell God that we love him very much; or, to serve and to show honour to a false god.
Roman ~ a person from Rome. Rome was the most famous city in the world by the time of Jesus. Their soldiers fought and defeated many countries. They made the people obey the rules of Rome. They made them pay taxes to Rome. The people could not rule themselves; they had to obey the laws of Rome.
sacrifice ~ a gift, such as food or an animal; people often gave it as part of their worship of God or of a false god; a gift to God to ask him to forgive us; or to thank him for something.
worship ~ to show honour to someone superior; to respect God; to praise and serve God; to tell God that we love him very much; or, to serve and to show honour to a false god.