Although Jewish authorities acknowledge that this book of Daniel is a Sacred Text, they regarded it only as Writings but not among the Prophets. Some went even further by claiming that Daniel is a historical fiction. They just have a distaste for what Daniel had written, one who have fasted for them and whom Gabriel regarded as “greatly loved.”
Yet the Jewish authorities just throw out their contempt by kicking Daniel’s prophecy downstair. The greatest of the Prophets, Daniel’s writing is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, yet the Jews pray everyday at the Wailing Wall around the Temple Mount for the coming of the Messiah. “Oh blind Guides!” Would God have any obligation to hear such prayers? Or, would he prefer to kindle a fire in the midst of them?
Daniel 11
Chapter 11 is one of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible. It is most specific, with great details describing historical events up to the present in more features than any other prophecy; in fact, it is the longest prophecy in the Bible. It describes numerous wars in the past and an impending one in the future!
The chapter opens with an angelic being speaking to Daniel, foretelling what is to come in the days ahead. This angel could be Gabriel or one other than him, but without further evidence to the contrary, this work will dubbed him Gabriel, especially in Daniel 9:21-22 where he identified himself and said:
“O Daniel, I have now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding,” that is, to understand what shall befall God’s people in the latter days, (Daniel 10:14); “in the latter days” is the key phase; which is the endtime, our time.
Much of the historical details used below for the fulfilment of this Chapter have been drawn from “A Manual of Ancient History” (1871) by George Rawlinson.
And lastly, Chapters 11 could be broken into six sections as follows:
(1) verses 1-5: events in Ancient Persia and Greece;
(2) verses 6-9: wars between Syria and Egypt (Seleucids vs Ptolemies);
(3) verses 10-20: the era of emperor Antiochus (III) the Great;
(4) verses 21-29: of Antiochus Epiphanes (a type of anti-Christ);
(5) verses 30-39: prophecy of Rome and the Papacy;
(6) verses 40-45: of Islam — the Turks, Arabs and Muslims.
1 “Also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
— also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede; these words are more properly belong to the preceding chapter; and the “eleventh” chapter should have begun in the next verse; and this verse are not the words of Daniel, but Gabriel’s;
— thus: in the first year of Darius, Gabriel stood to confirm and to strengthen Daniel, the inference being that the various angelic spirits come to the support of one another when special efforts in behalf of the people or nations in their care are required.
2 “And now will I show thee the truth: Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
— and now Gabriel will show Daniel the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet, namely, after Cyrus, who was then king, three kings in Persia, whose names are commonly given as Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis and Darius Hystaspes;
— and the fourth king was Xerxes, who exceeded his predecessors in wealth and riches; literally, “shall acquire far greater riches than they all” and by his strength through his riches as he applied his immense wealth in order to fit out a mighty army, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece, Xerxes staking his all on the invasion of the rival kingdom beyond the Dardanelies;
— but in the west, the King Philip of Macedonia planned a great war to conquer the Persian Empire, with an army made up mostly of Grecians. He died before the plans were completed; but his son, Alexander the Great, took over his plans and invaded Persia. He met the Persian army at the Battle of Issus, 333 BC (Daniel 8:2, 5-6).
— Then he swept down into Egypt, and then to a final crushing defeat of the Persian Empire at the Battle of Arbella, 331 BC, after which Alexander marched on a conquest clear to India, sweeping all before him.
3 And a mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. — and a mighty king shall stand up, a heroic warlike king, namely, Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Greece,
— who rose up a hundred years after the expedition of Xerxes, shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will, not only in Greece but in the whole known world with tyrannical authority.
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.
— and when Alexander was risen up to his highest pitch of grandeur, was sole monarch of the world, in the prime of his days, he was cut off by death; he left no inheritor, either of his power or of his projects; his kingdom was broken, no more united but seized by different generals,
— just as soon as his power is fairly established, the brief duration of Alexander’s rule shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, in a fourfold division of his kingdom after the battle of Ipsus, 301 BC;
— and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up; both of Alexander’s sons were put to death, so that the natural heirs and rightful successors of Alexander were eliminated; and after Alexander’s generals had broken up his empire into small divisions, out of this emerged four monarchs, but still Greek in character:
They were:
(1) Cassander, ruling Greece and Macedonia
(2) Lysimachus, ruling Asia Minor
(3) Seleucus (Nicator); Syria, Babylonia and east to India —”king of the North”
(4) Ptolemy (Soter); Egypt, part of Syria and Judea — “king of the South”
5 “And the king of the South shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.
— and the king of the South, Egypt (Ptolemy I, called Soter), shall be strong, and one of his princes, Seleucus Nicator; and he shall be strong above him; in 312 BC, taking advantage of Ptolemy’s being tied up in a war, Nicator established himself in Syria, and assumed the diadem as king. and have a great dominion, which, as a matter of fact extended from Phrygia on the west to the Indus on the east.
6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together, for the king’s daughter of the South shall come to the king of the North to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up with they that brought her, and him that begot her, and him that strengthened her in these times.
— and after several years have elapsed, they shall join themselves together, or “marriage union” the king of the South and the king of the North forming a confederacy, when Antiochus II Theos, the second successor of Seleucus Nicator, married Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemeus Philadelphus;
— at the end of 50 years, the Syria’s ruler, the king of the North, at this time was Antiochus II, called Theos. His wife was named Laodice. And, says Rawlinson’s Ancient History, page 251, “Her influence … engaged him in a war with Ptolemy Philadelphus [king of the South], BC 260, which is terminated, BC 252, by a marriage between Antiochus and Bernice, Ptolemy’s daughter.”
— for the king’s daughter of the South shall come to the king of the North to make an agreement, to establish just and peaceful relations by virtue of this marriage; but she will not retain the power of her position, nor will he retain his power; that is, neither of them retaining the power acquired through their marriage and the joining of their forces;
— but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times, when the critical position in which he found himself suggested the marriage to him. As soon as Ptolemy Philadelphus died in BC 247, Antiochus Theos expelled Berenice and recalled the formerly rejected Laodice.
— The latter, however, aimed for revenge and to achieve it, poisoned the king, and had her son by him, Seleucus II Callinicus, declared as his successor and sent assassins against Berenice who fled to the sanctuary of Daphne. The latter queen was slain, together with her little son, and the hope of the Ptolemies to behold one of their lineage on the throne of the Seleucidae was thus destroyed.
7 “But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come with an army and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them and shall prevail.
— her root would be her parent and so out of her roots would be someone from her parents; that is, a sibling; and history showed that her place in this controversy was her own brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes;
— who shall come with an army and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the North, against all the strongholds of the Northern power, and shall deal against them and shall prevail, this being done to the extent that the entire Syrian country from Cilicia to beyond the Tigris was conquered, numerous fortresses taken;
— then Ptolemy III carried back to Egypt immense booty and 2,500 molten images and idolatrous vessels which in 526 BC Cambyses had carried away from Egypt; and Laodice, the rival and murderess of Berenice, slain; he continued to rule until 222 BC while the king of the North, Seleucus II died in 226 BC.
8 And he shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
— and Ptolemy III shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods with their princes, their molten or cast images and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, all this being welcome booty;
— and he shall continue more years than the king of the North, holding out against him with his superior strength.
9 So the king of the South shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. — so Ptolemy III, the king of the South, shall come into his kingdom, rather, “and he” the last-named king of the North,
— “shall come into the kingdom of the king of the South,” and shall return into his own land to Syria. This was fulfilled in the expedition of Seleucus Callinicus in which he sent a fleet against Egypt which, however, was destroyed in a storm while his army was defeated and overthrown.
10 “But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through. Then shall he return and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
— but when Seleucus II died, his two sons took over the kingdom of the North; first Seleucus III, 226-223 BC, who ruled only three years, and then his brother Antiochus III, who became “the Great,” 223-187 BC. Both of these two sons of Seleucus II assembled immense forces to war against Egypt, avenge their father, and recover their port and fortress, Seleucia;
— and one shall certainly come and overflow and pass through; the activities of Antiochus the Great in his victorious advance upon Egypt; then shall he return and be stirred up, renewing his campaign against the Egyptians in the following spring, even to his fortress, very likely the fortified city of Gaza.
11 And the king of the South shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the North; and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
— and the king of the South, Ptolemy Philopator, shall be moved with a fierce and sudden anger, and shall come forth and fight with the king of the North, Antiochus the Great, and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of Ptolemy by which he broke the power of Antiochus.
12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands, but he shall not be strengthened by it.
— the young Egyptian king, now Ptolemy IV (Philopater), was roused, and with an army of 20,000 inflicted severe defeat on Antiochus the Great, the king of the North; and Ptolemy IV shall cast down ten thousands, killing myriads in the battle of Raphia, near Gaza;
— but he shall not be strengthened by it; he killed tens of thousands and again annexed Judea to Egypt; but he was not strengthened, for he made a rash and speedy peace with Antiochus, and returned to dissipation, throwing away the fruits of victory because he did not follow up his victory with any degree of urgency.
13 For the king of the North shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
— for the king of the North shall return and set forth a greater multitude with a great army; thus 12 years later, in 205 BC, Ptolemy IV Philopator, king of the South, died, leaving his throne to an infant son, Ptolemy Epiphanes (or Ptolemy V). Then the king of the North, Antiochus III the Great, assembled a greater army, and won great victories,
— this was approximately thirteen years later when Antiochus III had strengthened himself by (1) successful campaigns against the kingdoms toward the east so that his army was composed of veterans and his equipment were of the very best; and he had (2) made a treaty allying Philip of Macedonia with him,
— and others, against Egypt, and they wrested Phoenicia and southern Syria from the king of the South; and also (3) they were assisted by some of the Jews. Josephus’ Jewish history says many Jews entered into a league with Antiochus the Great against Egypt.
14 “And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the South; also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but they shall fall.
— and in those times many shall stand up against Egypt, particularly in insurrections and rebellions; also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, literally, “violent persons of thy [Daniel’s] people will revolt against him,”
— namely, when a number of Jews entered into a alliance with Antiochus against Egypt; but they shall fall, the Lord sending tribulations and afflictions upon them for their rebellion against the government, the reference probably being to the oppression of Antiochus the Great.
15 So the king of the North shall come and cast up a mound, and take the most fortified cities; and the armies of the South shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
— so Antiochus the Great shall come, advancing to the attack once more, and cast a mount and take the most fenced cities, literally, “city of fortifications,” a term used of the fortresses of the South in general; Antiochus also besieged and took Sidon from Egypt;
16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
— but Antiochus the Great, the victor of Paneas, he shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, that is, the Holy Land, and then Antiochus ruined the interests of Egypt in Judea at the Battle of Mount Panium, 198 BC, took possession of Judea and his chosen people; which by his hand shall be consumed, literally “and annihilation is in his hand.”
17 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, corrupting her; but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
— “upright ones” in Hebrew means “equal conditions, or marriage,” but the one he marries will not stand on his side. In 198 BC, Antiochus the Great arranged a marriage between his daughter, Cleopatra (not the Cleopatra of 31 BC in Egypt) and young Ptolemy Epiphanes, king of the South, by which he hoped subtly to gain complete possession of Egypt;
— thus shall he do, and he shall give him the daughter of women, namely, Cleopatra, who was then but a girl and in the care of her mother and others, who educated her, corrupting her, rather, “bringing destruction upon her” for the marriage, which took place five years later, resulted in the ruin of the land which she represented; but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him, that is, she was unable to carry out the plans of her father.
18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many. But a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach, he shall cause it to turn upon him.
— after this shall Antiochus the Great, the king of the North, turn his face unto the isles to conquer, 197 to 196 BC, the islands and coasts of Asia Minor; but the Roman general, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, utterly defeated him at the Battle of Magnesia, 190 BC; that is, the men in command of the islands and coastlands promptly repulsed his attacks.
19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
— as Antiochus the Great turned toward his own land, he was obliged to retire in peace to a fortress of his own land but he stumbled, for history records that he was slain in 187 BC in an insurrection of the inhabitants of Elymais.
20 “Then shall stand up in his place a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle.
— but his heir, Philopator (187-176), second son of Antiochus the Great, in an effort to raise money, sent a tax collector, Heliodorus, through Judea. But Philopator reigned only 11 years, when Heliodorus, his former favorite, who sought the crown for himself, poisoned him: “destroyed neither in anger nor in battle.”
21 And in his place shall stand up a vile person to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
— Philopator left no heir, and Seleucus IV his brother-in-law, who succeeded him, also left no heir. Then Philopator’s brother, a younger son of Antiochus the Great, named Epiphanes (Antiochus IV), a vile, despicable and contemptible reprobate, came by surprise and through flattery (or through trickery as some versions say) seized the royal power and authority against the will of the nation and before the people really realized it. To his aid came his assistant, Eumenes;
— Antiochus IV borrowed the surname Epiphanes from Ptolemy V of Egypt, king of the South; the surname Epiphanes means “manifest” to indicate that he was a manifestation of a deity. Reinforcing a strong tradition of the Seleucids, Antiochus required his subjects to worship him as the Olympian god, Zeus (II Macc 6:2, also the temple on Mount Gerizim was to be officially named Temple of Zeus).
22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him and shall be broken, yea, also the prince of the covenant. — here “the prince of the covenant” does not refer to Christ, but was an attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes to replace Onias from the high-priesthood, and preferred an usurper, Jason, Onias’s brother, to that dignity,
— not for any crime committed against him by the former, but for great sums of money which were offered to him by the latter and that the Jewish high priest would be subservient to him; as a matter of fact he began a process where the king (years later, Herod the Great appointed Simon Boethus from Alexandria as high priest, hence starting the Boethusians sect in the Sanctuary in Jerusalem) could made one high priest after another according to his whim;
— further, in his enthusiasm for Hellenism and in his efforts to unify his empire, Antiochus made use of cultural and religious coercion such as had long ago been employed by the Babylonians and Assyrians (I Macc 1:41).
23 And after the league is made with him he shall work deceitfully, for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small people.
— and from the time that an alliance is made with him, Antiochus IV or Epiphanes, in this expedition down against the South, he shall work deceitfully, and he shall turned up unexpectedly; for Antiochus shall come up and shall become strong, this smaller force being sufficient for his purposes, because he used it so cleverly.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers: he shall scatter among them the plunder and spoil and riches; yea, and he shall plot his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.
— without warning and stealthily Antiochus Epiphanes shall come into the most productive places of a province or among the richest men of a province [of Egypt], and he shall do that which his fathers have not done nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall squander and distribute the plunder and spoil among themselves; causing the provinces to become impoverished—but only for a time [the period decreed by God].
25 And 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 plot devices against him.
— threatened with war by the ministers of Ptolemy Philometor [now king of the South], who claim Coele-Syria and Palestine as the dowry of Cleopatra, the late queen-mother, Antiochus Epiphanes marches against Egypt in BC 171. But he was met by his nephew, Ptolemy Philometor, king of the South, with another immense army. But the Egyptian king was defeated through the treachery of his own officers and was outwitted by Antiochus.
26 Yea, those who feed from the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.
27 And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper, for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
— after Antiochus Epiphanes victory at Pelusium, he advanced to Memphis, plundered its wealth, and having obtained possession of the young king, Ptolemy Philometor, king of the South, endeavored to use him as a tool for “effecting the entire reduction of the country.”
— In 174 BC, the uncle of the king of the South sat at a banquet. Antiochus pretended to ally himself with the young Ptolemy, against his brother, Euergetes II, but each was trying to deceive the other;
— both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, in feigning friendship and thus trying to harm one another, and they shall speak lies at one table, all their protestations of high regard to each other being invented for the sake of playing politics;
— but it shall not prosper, neither one succeeding in carrying out the particular designs which he had in mind at this meeting, of which no accounts are found in secular history; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. — then shall Antiochus Epiphanes return into his land with great riches, in 168 BC,
— with much booty, firstly, those secured in Egypt; also, returning from Egypt with great plunder, Antiochus set himself against the Jews, massacred many, and then returned to Antioch with golden vessels from the Temple at Jerusalem.
29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come toward the South, but it shall not be as the former or as the latter; — at the time appointed Antiochus returned and came toward the South,
— in another campaign against Egypt and the countries tributary to it; but with none of his former success, that is, the triumphs of the other expeditions were not repeated; because Philometor, king of the South, got help from Rome;
30 for the ships of Chittim shall come against him. Therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant. So shall he do; he shall even return, and have accord with those who forsake the holy covenant.
— for then the Roman fleet of Chittim had came against Antiochus Epiphanes, a fleet from Cyprus, that is, in this case a Roman embassy with a number of ships, the Roman emissaries landing in Alexandria in order to prevent the Syrian king from conquering Egypt; therefore Antiochus shall grieve and return, retracing his steps in discouragement and anger on account of being foiled in his design;
— and have indignation against the holy covenant. So shall Antiochus do, returning through Judea, smarting under the defeat, he vented his exasperation against the Jews in Jerusalem; he returned after having intelligence of them that they had forsaken the holy covenant, that is, he noted that the Temple was deserted and whole service omitted; the city was largely forsaken by its natives.
31 And armies shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place there the abomination that maketh desolate.
— Antiochus sent his “detestable ringleader” Apollonius with 20,000 men to destroy Jerusalem, two years after its capture by himself. Apollonius slew multitudes, dismantled and pillaged the city. The soldiers then, from a fortress which they built commanding the Temple, slayed “all those that were in their best age, and to sell the women and the younger sort;”
— and arms shall stand on his part, armed forces sent by him, and they shall pollute the Sanctuary of strength, the image of Jupiter Olympius, was placed upon the altar in the Temple of God by Antiochus; and the Temple itself was ordered to be called the Temple of Jupiter Olympius;
— and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate; abolished the daily sacrifice (see also Daniel 8:11, 24) and their daily prayers be removed (one account says on the 15th of Kislev, Hebrew calendar); and the “abomination” set up is their idolatrous worship on the altar, for they sacrificed swine upon them;
— also, Antiochus Epiphanes decreed that all persons, upon pain of death, to conform to the religion of the Greeks; and so the Jewish law was abrogated and the Temple was consecrated to Jupiter Olympus.
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
— Antiochus perverted the Jews by flatteries, those who were willing to forsake their religion and such as do wickedly against the covenant, that is, by allowing themselves to be yielded to the tyrant’s demands, inducing them to return to apostasy by flattering promises of earthly gain, of worldly advantages;
— but the people that do know their God, that is, not surrendering their consciences to Antiochus’ impositions, who would bravely keep their ground at the time of awakening, beginning in 166 BC, when an old scribe Eleazar and the mother and her seven sons, known as the Maccabees brothers became strong and would resist all his blandishments and adhere to the covenant.
33 And those who understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days.
— and they that understand among the people, faithful Jews did understand. But most of the Maccabees brothers were put to death, and later, history indicates that later, Jesus or Yeshua and all the early apostles were martyred, except John; they all know the Lord and walk in His fear, and they dispersed and instruct many, making every effort to keep others in the right path;
— “many days” and martyrdom continued for many days or years; decades, even into the Middle Ages, when millions more were martyred for their faith.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
— now, when they shall fall, in sacrificing themselves for the sake of their religious principles, they shall be helped with a little help, for the theocratic kingdom was retained as a result of their efforts;
— but many shall cleave to them with flatteries, hypocritically casting their lot with the victorious party of the Jews in order to save themselves.
35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.
— and some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, EVEN TO THE TIME OF THE END: because it is yet for a time appointed, for all these afflictions would serve as trials in separating the dress or cosmetics from the genuine and pure.
— More about the purification process as we learn from the “wave sheaf” offering —
The “wave sheaf” as firstfruits, must be reaped on the morrow after the Sabbath by three persons, each with his own sickle and basket, until each had his basket full.
They then brought them to the courtyard of the Temple to be thrashed and parched and then to go through ALL of the thirteen sieves until it became very clean, and only one tenth the measure of the ‘omer’ were selected.
The resultant flour were then sieved through thirteenth sieves until it was pure and of very fine texture. Only ten percent of an ephah were chosen while the other ninety percent were rejected.
From this, now known as the omer, oil and frankincense were added, which is a weight of about 1.6 kg (the same weight the children of Israel were allowed to collect for their morning manna Exodus 16:16), was taken and then offered the next morning at about 9 AM, the time of the morning sacrifice in the Temple as a special annual offering waved before God.
The “wave sheaf” as firstfruits, represent humans having to go through purification through trials and often even martyrdom to be made pure and white to be regarded as Saints, ready and qualified to rule with the Messiah in the Millennium.
36 “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.
— in 65 BC, Syria was swallowed up by the Roman Empire, and became a Roman province; now the king of the North; the Roman emperor now controlled Judea, and therefore the king of the North, who will do according to his will, and he did,
— and he shall exalt himself, in the pride of his heart, exalting himself, and magnify himself above every god, and he did; for the Roman emperors required all to worship them and sacrifice to them, as a god. He was as a god. He was to speak arrogantly and blasphemously against the true God, and he did and persecuted true Christians;
— and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, until the wrath of God upon His people would be fully carried out, until His punishment would accomplish its purpose; for that which is determined shall be done, it cannot be recalled, it must be executed.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all.
— neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, thereby breaking with the true worship of his nation, the proper service of God as it had existed since Abraham and even back to Adam, nor the laws promulgated by Moses and Ezra; nor the desire of women, that is, forbidding their priests, call Fathers, to marry were denying and rejecting the natural inclination of man toward woman, as implanted in the sexes by the Creator,
— nor regard any god, it being characteristic of him that he will set aside all reverence and all natural feeling, including that of the natural knowledge of God; for he shall magnify himself above all, both divine and human, in a challenging supercilious arrogance.
38 But in his place shall he honor the god of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.
— the Roman emperors honored the god of forces, or munitions and developed the greatest war-making power the world have ever known but in his estate shall he honor the god of forces, literally, “and the god of fortresses in his place shall he honor,” that is, he would make wars, the application of force, his god, would extend his power by means of arms and munitions, spreading his power to all nations;
— and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things, these are the gods that their fathers, Adam to Abraham, knew not:
(a) Ishta and Easters, a celebration of the Queen of heaven: Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Her symbols (like the egg and bunny) were and still are fertility and sex symbols; and to those who actually think eggs and bunnies have something to do with the resurrection; Jeremiah 7:18 the women knead their dough to make cakes to the Queen of heaven; in Egypt, Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25, this is Ishtar: pronounced ‘Easter.’
(b) Mithra and Christmas; Ezekiel 8:16 five and twenty men with their backs toward the temple; their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east; Christmas, which honor the Mithraism, birthday on December 25th – a form of nature worship based on the Sun-Goddess Mithra who on the darkest night of the year (December 20/21), gives birth to “Light” causing each day thereafter to grow longer until the Summer solstice.
— neither Moses nor Ezra would have taught them these strange practices.
39 Thus shall he do in the greatest strongholds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory. And he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
— thus shall the papacy in Rome do in the most strongholds with strange gods, that is, strange gods in their temples, churches and chapels, dedicated to angels and departed saints; deck and adorn their images with gold, silver, precious stones and with desirable things; as well as commit the grossest idolatries with this strange breaden gods; which they hold up in such places, cringe and bow to, and pay all religious worship and adoration to them:
— and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for gain; such as the new discovered land in the Americas, most were under the Romish jurisdiction, all their newly formed countries and states, which are divided among those tutelar saints; each of them have their proper country assigned them they are to defend; but this is not done without gain arising to the pope of Rome from those countries as a reward to those who accept his claims.
And now we come to our very twenty-first century; and thus a bit speculative, because we couldn’t be definitely sure how things are going to be played out:
40 “And at the time of the end shall the king of the South push at him. And the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
— and at the time of the end, namely, that of the present age of the world, during our very twenty-first century era, the king of the South, who would now be the Muslims countries, for Egypt was swallowed by the Mohammedians during the tenth century; who in turn, were conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who were also Muslims;
— shall push at the North, and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships, with the aid of powerful forces;
— now Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the current President of Turkey, seems to be actively re-exerting himself in nearby countries; another country is Iran, who also has high ambition and having proxies all around the Middle-East; we’ll have to wait and see;
— and whoever he is, he shall enter into the countries, the king of the South carrying forward his campaign with all energy, and shall overflow and pass over, disturbing the peace of the king of the North. who would then rush Southward.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
— he, namely, the king of the North, together with the papacy, shall enter also into the glorious land, the land of Palestine, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon, these ancient enemies of the people of God being representative of all the forces opposing the Lord, and therefore, from the beginning, allies of the king of the North, whom he would not need to overthrow.
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. — the king of the North shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, namely, in order to take possession of them; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
— but the king of the North shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, the possession of which was ever one of the chief objects of it Roman pope, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians, representative of the southernmost people of the world, shall be at his steps;
— we have here, in a few bold strokes, and in terms taken from the campaigns of the forces of the king of the North since the third and second centuries. Although the Roman papacy suffered temporary reverses on account of the secession of the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church and the rise of Mohammedanism, he still managed to subjugate one country after the other, so that his strongholds were found throughout the world.
44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many. — but tidings out of the East and out of the North; perhaps the Orient and Russia shall trouble the revived Roman Empire;
— therefore the king of the North shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many when he heard of Gog and Magog coming like a storm, with the utmost rage and fury, and like a cloud for number, and threaten utter ruin and destruction to the nation of Israel in their homeland; this will be his end in view in coming out, but he will not be able to accomplish it; of all which see Ezekiel 38:2;
— another possibility of the army from the East and the North could also be an Islamic Army of 200 million of Revelation 9:16-18.
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
— and the king of the North and the papacy shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; some say the coming Roman Empire shall establish its palace as capital of the revived Roman Empire, and eventually its religious headquarters in Jerusalem! over against the mountain of the glory [or ornament] of holiness,” so that his palace was intended to be a rival of the ancient seat of God’s power in the midst of His holy people;
— yet the king of the North and the papacy shall come to their end (no more Easters, no more Christmas), their true nature being exposed and realized by at least some of those who could read the signs of the times, and none shall help them; although they will continue their campaign of deceit until the end of time.
Daniel 12
1 “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book.
— and at that time the Archangel Michael shall stand up, who has all the angels of heaven under him, and he shall “stand up” in the latter day and Michael, standing and on guard;
— stand for the children of thy people, as the protector of Israel, Daniel 10:13-21; and there shall be a time regarded as “a time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7); a time of tribulation and affliction for the house of Jacob, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time, the climax of the oppression brought upon the house of Israel by all opponent forces;
— a parallel scenario is available from Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 20:45 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
46 “Son of man, set thy face toward the South, and drop thy word toward the South, and prophesy against the forest of the Southland.
47 And say to the forest of the South: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee and every dry tree. The flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the South to the North shall be burned therein.
48 And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.’”
49 Then said I, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Doth he not speak parables?’”
Ezekiel 21:1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;
3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My Sword out of his sheath and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My Sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the South to the North,
5 that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn forth My Sword out of his sheath. It shall not return any more.’
Q: how would such scenarios be played out?
— and at that time thy people, the true believers, shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book, whose name had been entered in the book of life; this prophecy begins with the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt, soon after the death of Alexander the Great — 2300 years ago.
— But it ends at the time of the resurrection and the Second Coming of the Messiah to bring peace to the region — and to the entire world! This prophecy is so long, but plain and this “2300 days” or years could also mean the period where his Saints are cleansed, made white and purified!
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. — and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
— literally, “many, a great multitude of those who sleep in the dust-land, shall awake,” shall return to life in the resurrection, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt, this being the division at the day of Judgement: believers destined for eternal glory, the wicked with their gnashing of teeth and torments.
3 And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
— and they that are wise, the true and righteous shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, in a wonderful glorification and they that turn many to righteousness, by instructing them in loyalty and faithfulness in the midst of the tribulations in the latter days and shine as the stars forever and ever;
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
— but thou, O Daniel, the greatest among the Prophets, shut up the words and seal the book, so that its contents during his time, would not be revealed to men, even perhaps to the time of the end, before the Millenium or the Messianic era; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased,
— literally, “many shall search it through, and thus understanding will become great.” It is true in general that the knowledge and interpretation of the prophecies of old comes to those who search the Scriptures most carefully, diligently comparing prophecy and fulfillment as indicated in the directions of the Lord.
5 Then I, Daniel, looked; and behold, there stood two others, the one on this side of the bank of the river and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
— then Daniel looked after the angel had finished his message, and behold, there stood two more angels besides the one who had spoken to him, on either side of the River Tigris.
6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?”
— and one, only one of these angels being introduced as speaking, said to the man clothed in linen (who could most probably be the Son of God, who later came and served humanity as the son of man, hence “a man clothed in linen” otherwise why the distinction?),
— which was upon the waters of the river, occupying a position above the water, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? literally, “Till when the end of these marvelous things?” the end being the period or era of the Messiah with all that happened in it.
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished scattering the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
— and I heard the man clothed in linen (who could be the Son of God), which was upon the waters of the river, as though enthroned there or floating on the waters, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, in the gesture of a most solemn oath;
— and swore by him that liveth forever, by the one everlasting true God, that it, the period of these wonderful things, shall be for a time, times, and a half, the duration of the period being the same as that of Antichrist’s reign, a type of Antiochus Epiphanes; Cf. Daniel 7:25;
— and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, when the Church would have reached a point apparently near annihilation on account of the oppression of Antichrist, all these things shall be finished, including also the deliverance of the people of the Lord by the archangel Michael and everything else that had been included in the great prophecy of the angel.
8 And I heard, but I understood not. Then said I, “O my lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
— and Daniel heard, but he understood not; he did not grasp the meaning of the angel’s announcement; then said Daniel, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? He wanted a more exact explanation and interpretation of the period to which reference was made and to the sequence of events in that era, for Daniel was still in the dark concerning them.
9 And he said, “Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
— and be content with what has been made known to thee, Daniel, although the words bare encouraging they are closed up, all sealed till the time of the end, so that it would not be lost or mutilated throughout the times then coming and until the latter days.
10 Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
— many shall be purified, tried and made pure and white, the time of tribulation bringing out and testing their faithfulness to their Lord, for they would read and interpret the signs of the times aright; but the wicked shall do wickedly, deliberately closing their eyes and minds to the lessons intended for them, and none of the wicked shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
— and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, Cf. Daniel 11:31, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, in the idolatry introduced by Antiochus Epiphanes, the antitype of Antichrist, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days (yā·mîm, not “bō·qer e·reḇ” as in Daniel 8:14) a period of time whose duration in days are determined exactly, but when it would start or how it would end would require some speculations.
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
— blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (yā·mîm), evidently the end of the great trial intended to test the loyalty of the Lord’s children by a tyrant, a type of Antiochus Epiphanes we have seen in the last chapter.
13 But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” — but go your way, Daniel (now ninety years of age at least) till the end comes;
— for thou shalt rest in the peace of the grave, and stand in thy lot at the end of days (yā·mîm), calmly awaiting in death for deliverance. Blessed are all who await their death in this spirit of calm hopefulness and certain trust in the promise of God!
~~~
— More on an endtime fulfillment to a character similar to Antiochus Epiphanes —
In Daniel 11:21, referring in original, typical fulfillment to Antiochus Epiphanes, there ‘shall stand up a vile person…’ that was in 168 BC. Now, notice verse 31 — still speaking of Antiochus Epiphanes, ‘And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength’ — speaking of the Temple at Jerusalem, ‘… and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.’
What Antiochus placed there to defile the ‘Holy of Holies’ in God’s Temple, was the statue of Jupiter Olympus. The Mercy Seat of the Holy of Holies was the earthly representation of the very Throne of GOD in heaven. There will be another man similar to Antiochus Epiphanes, who will be a supreme religious leader, called ‘the False Prophet,’ [Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10] and the ‘man of sin,’ who will make this final fulfillment.
So once again before the second coming of Jesus (a Greek name which is Iesus which means ‘son of Zeus’, others say it is short for ‘Hail Zeus’ – there were no letter J until very recently, about 400 years ago only) or better in Hebrew, Jesus or Yeshua (which means ‘he will save’), or the Messiah, one theory is that another vile leader will stop the daily sacrifices being offered in the Temple (yet to be built) in Jerusalem, and will profane the Holy Place with an idol. But that is not all.
This same prophecy spoken by Yeshua is also reported by Luke in his Gospel. Notice Luke 21:20-24: ‘And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains…’
The typical fulfillment of this occurred in 66-70 AD. The Roman army under General Cestius was marching, late October, 66 AD, toward Jerusalem. They became established in sight of the gates of the city. But for some reason unknown Cestius’ army was pulled back.
The Nazarenes who heeded a divine warning fled to the hills of Judea and then northward east of the Jordan, a place call Pella — almost a century of 19-year time cycles ago. It was the Roman army under Titus, in 70 AD, which actually invaded and destroyed Jerusalem.
Another group, the Hillel branch of Pharisees also took warning, and fled west of Jerusalem to Yavne near the Mediterranean Sea and later to Tiberias where they flourished as Rabbinic Judaism.
The Sadducees, the Boethusians (who were closely allied to the Herodians), the Zealots and the Shammai branch of Pharisees, all deemed as tares, all perished in the AD 70 inferno; a magnificent manifestation of God’s judgement on man whose cause is still unknown to man.
So now, putting the two accounts of Yeshua’s Olivet prophecy together, Matthew 24 and Luke 21, two Events are to occur, just before the Great Tribulation. 1) There will very soon be a Temple in Jerusalem, with daily sacrifices once again being offered.
But the ruler of the soon-coming resurrected ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ a political-military union of ten European nations, will stop the daily sacrifices and profane the Holy Place in the Temple; and 2) Jerusalem will be surrounded and captured (Zechariah 14:1-2) by the Fascist-Nazi army of the European Empire, already starting to rise now out of the European Union. They will invade Jerusalem, and take charge of the Temple.
For the moment this is the only viable possibility being offered. Prophecies are fluid, especially those pertaining to the future which are always subjected to human bias, errors or perhaps unknowingly leaving out some relevant factors that should be incorporated in our analysis.
So, if readers have sported any discrepancies or leftouts, please feel free to share with us; thanks. As events unfold our visions would be clearer and we may see further possibilities. We’ll have to wait and see.
Posted in Daniel