Daniel – Dan 11:1-24  And Now, I Will Show you the Truth

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Audio Download

Dan 11:1-24  And Now, I Will Show you the Truth

[Study Aired February 14, 2022]

Dan 11:1  “And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. 
Dan 11:2  “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 
Dan 11:3  Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 
Dan 11:4  And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. 
Dan 11:5  “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 
Dan 11:6  After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times. 
Dan 11:7  “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 
Dan 11:8  He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 
Dan 11:9  Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land. 
Dan 11:10  “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 
Dan 11:11  Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 
Dan 11:12  And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 
Dan 11:13  For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies. 
Dan 11:14  “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 
Dan 11:15  Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 
Dan 11:16  But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 
Dan 11:17  He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 
Dan 11:18  Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 
Dan 11:19  Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. 
Dan 11:20  “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 
Dan 11:21  In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 
Dan 11:22  Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 
Dan 11:23  And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 
Dan 11:24  Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 

The introduction to the prophecy of Daniel 11 is given in the preceding chapter 10. In chapter 10, we are made to understand that what we are going to be shown in chapter 11 pertains to what will happen to the elect in the latter days. We, the elect, are the ones on whom the ends of our world are come.

Dan 10:14  Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

In order to understand chapter 11, we need to bear in mind Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) together with Daniel’s vision of the four beasts in Daniel chapter 7. In chapter 2 and 7, we are made aware that there would be four world-ruling empires followed by the kingdom of God. Spiritually, this is to inform us that before Christ comes to us to destroy the old man and establishes His kingdom within us, there would be four beasts dominating us within. These four beasts signify the whole of all that which opposes God within.

Dan 2:31  “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.
Dan 2:32  The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,
Dan 2:33  its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
Dan 2:34  As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

Chapter 11 of Daniel focuses on comparing the period of the second empire to that of the fourth empire. In other words, the period just before the Lord comes to His elect with the brightness of His coming. Further details of the outward manifestation of the last three empires are given here in chapter 11. What is shown in chapter 11 is the “was” part of the word of Christ. We, however, focus on the “is” part of the word while paying attention to the “was” and “will be” aspects of the word of Christ. We must also bear in mind that it is the spirit that gives life. The physical interpretation of the word of Christ profits nothing. Thus, as we go through this chapter, we will give the physical manifestation of the word of Christ but focus on the spiritual reality and also what will be.

Rev 1:8  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Joh 6:63  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

We must also understand that Daniel, as a symbol of the Old Testament prophets, was not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. That is why the vision explained to him pertains only to its outward manifestation. We, the elect, are those who are made to understand the mysteries of the word of Christ. In trying to understand chapter 11 therefore, we shall look at the physical and the spiritual implication of the vision given to Daniel.

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Dan 11:1  And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

The name Darius means Lord. Thus, Darius here represents Christ. We, the elect, are represented by Daniel. The number 1 signifies union. This means that in union with Christ, we, the elect, both confirm and strengthen the Lord. Our confessions confirm that Jesus is Lord!! The question is how do we strengthen Christ? Remember that Jesus said that whatever we do for any one of the members of Christ, we are doing to Him. This is to suggest that as long as we are encouraging and strengthening our brothers and sisters, we are doing it for Christ and therefore, strengthening Him.

Mat 25:37  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
Mat 25:38  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
Mat 25:39  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
Mat 25:40  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Dan 11:2  “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 

Christ coming to us is to show us the truth. Before this, we found ourselves in the wilderness of Babylon thinking we are getting the truth, when, indeed, we were imbibing lies upon lies and as a result, became worse off.

Jer 23:32  Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.

Outwardly, there would be three kings in Persia besides Darius in whose reign this prophecy is dated. The fourth Persian king, who became strong through his riches, was Xerxes. Being influenced by his riches, he thought he was invincible and therefore invaded Greece. The four kings represent the whole of the kingdom of Persia, which succeeded the Babylonian empire and was therefore the second world empire after Babylon. It was characterized by silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Dan 2:32  The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,

The Hebrew word for silver by implication is money. In addition, the Hebrew root for the Hebrew word for silver (H3700) means desire, be greedy, long or sore. These are negative applications of the word silver. So, as we can see, silver is synonymous with greed. Our time in Babylon was characterized by our greed or desire for the riches of this world or mammon.

Isa 56:11  Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

1Ti 3:8  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

Noting that the use of beasts, kings and horns are all related to the beast in Daniel chapter 7 and the Book of Revelation, the statement that the fourth shall be far richer than all of them is to let us know that the whole of our domination by the beast (king) within is to bring us to think that we are spiritually rich, when indeed, we are spiritually impoverished. While in Babylon, we came to think that our riches are a sign of the Lord’s blessing, while we were actually wretched, poor, blind and naked spiritually.

Rev 17:10  they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.
Rev 17:11  As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.
Rev 17:12  And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

Rev 3:17  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Rev 3:18  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

Dan 11:3  Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 
Dan 11:4  And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. 

Outwardly, verse 3 introduces us to the next phase in world empires: the rise of Alexander the Great. After the Persian empire came the Greek empire led by Alexander the great. He was an ancient Macedonian ruler and one of history’s greatest military minds who, as King of Macedonia and Persia, established the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen. His kingdom was divided among his four generals into four smaller and weaker empires. This third kingdom was described as brass.

Dan 2:32  The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,

In the King James Version of the Bible, bronze or brass is synonymous with copper. Copper refers to our state as carnal babes in Christ. During our carnal state in Babylon, Christ’s words have no place in our hearts because we cannot hear them. We end up even trying to kill Christ in our brothers who tell us the truth about the word of God.

Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Dan 11:5  Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 
Dan 11:6  After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.
Dan 11:7  And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 
Dan 11:8  He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north.
Dan 11:9  Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land. 
Dan 11:10  His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 

The “then” in verse 5 let’s us know that it is after the events listed in verses 2 to 4 that verse 5 takes place. Outwardly, it was after the death of Alexander the Great that the kingdom was divided among his four generals. The king of the south refers to the rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty headquartered in Egypt while the king of the north was that of Seleucia with Syria as its base. These two dynasties were hostile toward each other, and Israel was literally caught in the middle. The king of the South proposed a marriage alliance to unite the two kingdoms (verse 6). Princess Berenice from the South married the Seleucid king, and a child was born. However, the king died suddenly, and the wife and child were murdered in 246 BC. Instead of sealing an alliance, this started a war. Princess Berenice’s brother, the king in Egypt, carried out a successful campaign against the North in 245—241 BC. Later, the Syrian kingdom tried to retaliate—and even attempted to invade Egypt.

As the Lord’s elect, we are given to know what the spirit is saying to us of these verses. This is because it is the spirit that gives life. The letter of the word profits nothing.  We need to understand that verses 5 to 10 are all part of the third world empire before the Roman empire came. The Roman empire was the last worldly empire before the coming of the kingdom of Christ. As we are aware, all these nations and their struggles reflect the wars within us just as the Lord declared to Rebecca that two nations are within her.

Gen 25:23  And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

This war between the south and the north with Israel in between speaks of what must take place within us before the Lord comes to destroy the old man within. This is what the Lord said about what should happen to us before He comes to us as a stone cut out without human hands:

Mat 24:6  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Mat 24:8  All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (ESV)

Dan 2:34  As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Dan 2:35  Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (ESV)

In Matthew 24:8, it is said that all the wars, famine and earthquake are just the beginning of the birth pains. What this means is that what we are reading is a necessary evil that must happen to us before we are given birth and at the same time get caught up with Christ.  This situation is described in Revelation chapter 12 as follows:

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Dan 11:11  Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 
Dan 11:12  And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 
Dan 11:13  For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

Outwardly, Syria was defeated by Egypt in 217 BC; the Greek-Egyptian king of the South slaughtered about 20 percent of the Syrian force, but the victory was short-lived as Syria invaded again with a bigger force and was successful.

Inwardly, our struggle against sin is like this war of the king of the north and the south. We are victors today, and we are overcome by sin tomorrow.  This struggle continues until Christ comes to establish us in victory.

Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Dan 11:14  “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 
Dan 11:15  Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 
Dan 11:16  But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.

Outwardly, Israel was initially under the more tolerant rule of the Ptolemaic kings of the South. But with the Syrian victory, Israel passed under the control of the Seleucid king of the North in 200 BC. Some in Israel, thinking that they were being oppressed by the Ptolemies, supported the Seleucids against the Ptolemies. There were divisions and factions within Israel as people took different sides. Jerusalem, the “fortified city,” had Egyptian (southern) troops stationed there, and they were defeated by the king of the North.

Inwardly, during our walk in Babylon, we put our confidence in our own strength and that of men as a result of the enticing words of man’s wisdom. However, our trust in man must fail us before we can put our trust in the Lord fully. This was what happened to Jerusalem, the fortified city in verses 15 and 16 of Daniel chapter 11. The Israelites put their confidence in the southern troops stationed in Jerusalem, but Jerusalem was captured by the king of the north.

Psa 146:3  Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Psa 146:4  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Psa 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
Psa 146:6  Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

Dan 11:17  He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 
Dan 11:18  Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 
Dan 11:19  Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. 
Dan 11:20  “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

Outwardly, this is what had happened. There was another try at a marriage alliance. The daughter of the Seleucid king (of the North) married the Ptolemaic king (of the South) in 193 BC. The plan was not truly to build an alliance but to undermine the king of the South, for the daughter was to be an agent of her father. However, after marriage, she sided with her husband instead. Since the subterfuge did not work, the Seleucid king of the North attacked a number of Greek islands and part of Asia Minor. He had been warned by the Romans to stay out of Greece, but he ignored the warning, and the Romans attacked and defeated him at Thermopylae in 191 BC. He was humiliated and had to start paying tribute to Rome.

The Seleucid successor was preoccupied with getting money to keep Rome at bay. He was unsuccessful in an attempt to loot the temple in Jerusalem to get tribute money. This king had a short and inconsequential reign.

Spiritually, these evil kings from the North and the South represent the ruling false doctrines in our heavens which block our understanding of the glorious light of the gospel from Christ. Just as Israel was hemmed in by these two kings, we are constrained by the dictates of these false doctrines in our lives.

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Dan 11:21  In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 
Dan 11:22  Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 
Dan 11:23  And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 
Dan 11:24  Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 

This contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given was Antiochus Epiphanes. He was not a legitimate heir to the throne but was able to acquire an army and take the throne by force in 187 BC. He seemed to have a special vendetta against Jerusalem. He was a thug and a madman.

As we are aware, the Lord uses evil men as His sword to bring us to our wits’ end as a necessary evil in dragging us to our safe haven.

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Inwardly, the beast within is contemptible and stops at nothing in defiling the temple of God, which is our bodies. However, as stated in verse 24, that king shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. The stronghold is Christ, and the reign of the old man or beast in our lives is limited.

Other related posts