Daniel 10 – 12
Introduction
Daniel lived throughout the Babylonian captivity and at the beginning of Medo-Persia’s reign. Secular chronologists would date the period of Babylon’s captivity 605 B.C. – 537 B.C., while some Bible chronologists have dated the Babylonian captivity 528 B.C. – 457 B.C.
Regardless of which chronology is correct, all must admit that the events predicted in this final vision of Daniel happened hundreds of years after Babylon’s captivity*. I believe that everyone who carefully considers the accuracy and details in these prophecies will be confronted with a choice. Either they must explain the book of Daniel to be one of the biggest hoaxes of all time (deceiving even Jesus Himself [Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14])**, or they must acknowledge that the God of the Bible is really the Lord of Lords with all wisdom and power.
* The discrepancy between the dating centers on the duration of Persia’s reign. The secular chronologist adds 80 years to Persia’s rule that Bible chronologists omit.
**For more on the authenticity of the book of Daniel see the end of DANIEL 8 – Daniel’s 2nd Vision
We have attached the dates of these events to highlight the significance of these prophecies.
Daniel 10 – Description of Vision
- V. 1 – Vision occurred 3 years after Jews were freed from Babylon
- “appointed time was long” – events in this vision would happen hundreds of years after Daniel dies (see v. 14).
- V. 4 – “the Tigris” – A river associated with Persia especially
- Vv. 5-12, 15-19 – Description of experience of vision
- Similarities between this vision and that of John at Patmos (see Rev. 1).
- Establishes a link between Daniel and Revelation
- Similarities between this vision and that of John at Patmos (see Rev. 1).
- V. 13 – “Prince of the kingdom of Persia,” “kings of Persia”
- Persia was the dominant force in the world at this time, and spiritual forces were behind this and resistant to God’s Kingdom triumphing
- V. 20 – “the prince of Greece will come” – after Persia is conquered, Greece will rise as the next foe
- V. 21 – “Scripture of Truth” = The True Writing
- This is what God decrees to happen (Ps. 139:16; Rev. 5:1)
Daniel 11:2-35 – Prophecies of Persia and Greece
| Verse | Prophecy | Fulfillment | Date |
| 11:2 | 3 more kings arising in Persia | 3 kings after Darius (Dan. 9:1; 11:1): (1) Cyrus, (2) Cambyses, (3) Darius HystaspisOr…3 kings after Cyrus (Dan. 10:1):(1) Cambyses, (2) Pseudo-Smerdis (was an imposter reigned only 7 months), (3) Darius Hystaspis | 538-485 B.C.(Secular chronology) 457-404 B.C.(Bible chronology) |
| 11:2 | …4th king – richer; uses strength to stir up Greece | Xerxes was the next king – famous for his wealth (see Esther 1:1), amassing an army of 800,000 (or more) against Greece, but had a shameful defeat. | 485-464 B.C.(Secular chronology) 404-383 B.C.(Bible chronology) |
| 11:3 | Mighty king arises | Alexander the Great, King of Greece, came 100 years after Xerxes’s invasion, but attacked Persia to avenge that invasion. | 334-323 B.C.Both chronologies are equal from this point on. |
| 11:3 | …he acts by his own will | Contrast Alexander’s dominion to the kings of Persia who had limited rule (see Dan. 6:15) | “ |
| 11:4 | Kingdom divided 4 directions | Ptolemy reigned in Egypt (South)Antigonus reigned in Asia (North)Seleucus reigned in Babylon and Syria (East)Cassander reigned in Macedonia (West) | c. 300 B.C. |
| 11:4 | …not among his posterity | After Alexander’s death, 1 of his wives murdered the other. His brother and another wife of his were killed by his mom. His mom was killed by soldiers in revenge. His son and other wife were killed by Cassander (ruler of Macedonia). His other son and other wife were murdered, so that a less than 15 years after his death none of his family survived. | “ |
| 11:4 | …not by his dominion | None of the succeeding rulers had the absolute power and territory of Alexander | “ |
| 11:4 | …others will reign | Either referring to other rulers who reigned over small fragments of the empire, or others besides his family would reign | “ |
| 11:5 | King of South will be strong | King of South = Egypt (11:8,42,43). Ptolemy Lagus made Egypt strong. | 323 B.C. – 306 B.C. |
| 11:5 | …as well as one of his princes | A prince of Alexander the Great, Seleucus Nicanor, who was formerly a satrap (subordinate ruler) of Ptolemy Lagus, became king of Syria. | 323 B.C. – 280 B.C. |
| 11:5 | …the prince will gain great power over him [King of South] | Seleuces had more land and power than Ptolemy. | “ |
| 11:6 | They shall join forces | 70 years after Alexander’s death, these kingdoms “united” superficially. | 253 B.C. |
| 11:6 | …daughter of South’s king will make an agreement with North’s king | Ptolemy’s daughter, Bernice, was offered to the King of Syria if he agreed to get rid of his wife and disinherit his son. | c. 250 B.C. |
| 11:6 | …she won’t retain her power or authority, and neither will the king of South | When Ptolemy died, Antiochus (king of Syria) divorced Berenice and took back his former wife, Laodice. In turn, Laodice poisoned Antiochus and caused the death of Berenice and Berenice’s son, making her own son the king. | “ |
| 11:6 | …those who brought her [daughter of South] would be given up [killed] with her | Berenice was killed along with the attendants she brought from Egypt | “ |
| 11:6 | …he who begot her will be given up | The translation could read: “the child she brought forth”. If this is the case, then it refers to Berenice’s son being killed along with her.Or…If translation remains, could refer to Ptolemy’s plan being aborted or “given up” when Berenice was murdered. | “ |
| 11:6 | …he who strengthened her was given up | Probably refers to a counselor or adviser that was killed with her.Or…Refers to husband or father who both died before she did, and couldn’t help herOr…Refers to her brother who came with army from lesser Asia to help her, but was too late | “ |
| 11:7 | A branch of her roots will rise up…who shall come with an army | Ptolemy Euergetes, Bernice’s brother, came with an army from lesser Asia to avenge his sister | c. 230 B.C. |
| 11:7 | …enter fortress of king of North | Ptolemy Euergetes took many of the strong and fortified cities of Syria | “ |
| 11:8 | He will carry their gods to Egypt | He took many of their riches and roughly 2,500 gods back to Egypt with him (these were vessels that Cambyses, king of Persia, captured from Egypt, therefore, the Egyptians felt indebted to Euergetes when he brought them back). Note: Egypt is mentioned by name, but not Syria, because in Daniel’s time Egypt flourished, while Syria was a dependency of Assyria and Babylon. | “ |
| 11:8 | …he will take precious silver and gold | He took roughly 40,000 talents of silver and precious vessels, etc. | “ |
| 11:8 | …he will continue more years than North’s king | Ptolemy reigned 4 more years than Seleucus Callinicus, king of Syria | 221 B.C. |
| 11:9 | “So the king of the South shall come into his kingdom, and shall return to his own land.” (KJV)Or…“Also, the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land.” (all other translations express this sentiment) | Regardless of which translation is correct, both events happened. Ptolemy did return to Egypt after hearing of trouble there. Also, Seleucus (King of North) attempted to invade Egypt, but was defeated by Ptolemy and returned. | c. 230 B.C. |
| 11:10 | His [North king’s] sons will produce an army | Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, sons of the King of North (Syria), gathered a large army to avenge and put themselves as heads | c. 230 B.C. |
| 11:10 | …one shall come and overwhelm and pass through | Seleucus Ceraunus was killed after reigning only 2 years. Antiochus, though, came with the army and regained Syria from Euergetes. Then he captured other land, even to Raphia, a strong fortress at the entrance of Egypt | Seleucus’s death: 225 B.C. Antiochus r. 225-187 B.C. |
| 11:10 | …he will return to his fortress and stir up strife | He came to Ptolemy’s fortress, Raphia, at the entrance of Egypt. | c. 210 B.C. |
| 11:11 | South’s king, enraged, goes to fight North | Ptolemy Philopator, son of Euergetes, King of South, was notably very lazy, but grew enraged at this, and assembled an army to fight at Raphia. | c. 210 B.C. |
| 11:11 | …North’s king will have vast army, but will lose the battle | Antiochus had 62,000 men, 6,000 horses, and 102 elephants, but still lost. | “ |
| 11:12 | South’s king’s heart became proud and defeated tens of thousands, but didn’t prevail | Ptolemy Philopator didn’t take advantage of his vitory, and eventually lost the power he gained. Also, he broke God’s law by entering the Most Holy Place | “ |
| 11:13 | North king will return with larger army and more equipment | 14 years later, Antiochus returned against King Ptolemy Epiphanes, son of Philopator, in alliance with Philip, King of Macedon, with roughly 300,000 soldiers. | c. 200 B.C. |
| 11:14 | Many will come against South’s king | Antiochus joined with Philip of Macedon, along with some prominent people in Egypt, to overtake the young Ptolemy Epiphanes. | “ |
| 11:14 | …Violent Jews shall also exalt themselves | When Egypt prevailed, the Jews sided with the Egyptians to please the king of Egypt and apostatized from their own religion. They warred against Antiochus.Or…Later, the Jews sided with Antiochus against Ptolemy, revolting from Ptolemy | “ |
| 11:14 | …these Jews failed | Those who joined Ptolemy against Antiochus were destroyed when he became the master of Jerusalem (see Maccabees 1).Or…Those Jews who joined Antiochus failed in their aim of making Judea independent. | “ |
| 11:15 | North’s king will build mound and take fortified city; the best troops of the South won’t withstand him | North’s king, Antiochus Magnus (“Antiochus the Great”), the same king as before, defeats Scopas, the Egyptian general, and chases him to Sidon, a strongly “fenced city” where he was forced to surrender. Antiochus took over Ptolemy’s fortified cities by casting up mounts. They also used battering engines to throw stones into the cities. Egypt’s great soldiers and leaders (Eropus, Menocles, and Damoxenus) were sent to deliver Scopas, but weren’t able to. | “ |
| 11:16 | The North king who comes against South will do his own will | Antiochus the Great, who came against Ptolemy, took whatever land he pleased, Ptolemy unable to stop him. | “ |
| 11:16 | …North’s king will even stand in the Glorious Land with destruction and power | The Jews supplied Antiochus the Great with provisions to conquer the troops left by Scopas of Egypt Antiochus used Judea as the land of his army – conquering it with the population of his people. Or…Some read that the land will be perfected here (the Hebrew could say this), and it did prosper some when Antiochus took it over. | “ |
| 11:17 | North’s King will seek to enter South Kingdom with abundant strength | Antiochus desired to take over Egypt. | “ |
| 11:17 | …with upright ones | The Jews (Deut. 32:15; Isa. 44:2) aided Antiochus in his scheme. | “ |
| 11:17 | …North’s king will give South’s king the daughter of women, destroying it/her | Antiochus gave Cleopatra (his daughter, called “daughter of women” because she was a virgin with great beauty and accomplishments, or because she remained under the care of the women she was first committed to). She was part of his scheme to destroy Egypt. | “ |
| 11:17 | …but she won’t stay on his side | She sided with her husband after they were married. | “ |
| 11:18 | Afterwards, North’s king will turn to coastlands and take many | Antiochus gave up on Egypt, and took a large fleet to capture islands and cities on the Aegean sea. | “ |
| 11:18 | …a ruler shall end North king’s attacks on them, and will attack North King | The Roman lands that had been attacked were avenged by the Scipios, among others, who defeated Antiochus and his troops in many victories (on sea and land). Forcing him to pay 1,000 talents a year for tribute. | “ |
| 11:19 | North’s king will turn to the fortress of his land | Antioch, after his defeat, fled to further parts of his kingdom.Or…He fled to Antioch, his capital city (“the fort of his land”).Or…When the Romans forced a heavy tribute upon him (annual payment of 1,000 talents), he plundered a temple of Jupiter. | “ |
| 11:19 | …he will fall and not be found | When his people found out he plundered a temple of Jupiter, he was killed (there are multiple theories of how, and perhaps Daniel hints at this in the verse). | 187 B.C. |
| 11:20 | North king will be replaced by someone who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom | Seleucus Philopater, Antiochus’s eldest son, was noted for his constant raising of taxes. He also attempted to plunder money deposited in the temple of Jerusalem. | Philopater r. 187-175 B.C. |
| 11:20 | …within a few days he’ll be destroyed, without anger or battle | He was poisoned by his treasurer (who had been sent to plunder Jerusalem’s temple) after reigning 12 years. “Few days” – he only reigned a third of the time of his father, Antiochus the Great…Or, days may correspond to years…Or, it might be dated after the plundering of the temple. | 175 B.C. |
| 11:21 | A vile person will rise up in his place | Antiochus Epiphanies, who had been held in Rome, rose up as Syria’s king. | 175 B.C. |
| 11:21 | …he seized the kingdom by flattery, not by lineage | Others claimed the throne, and none of the Syrians claimed Epiphanies the king, but Epiphanies flattered the kings of Pergamus, the Romans, and the Syrians, and got their assistance in becoming king. | 175 B.C. |
| 11:22 | Before him, they will be swept away by a flood | The others vying for the throne were forced down by allies of Epiphanies.Or…The Egyptians fell in a great slaughter by Antiochus near the Nile. | c. 175 B.C. |
| 11:22 | …as well as the prince of the covenant | Onias the High Priest was killed in 1st year of Epiphanies, where later Antiochus sold the priesthood to the priest’s brother for 440 talents of silver.Or…The king of Egypt made a covenant with Antiochus the Great, and was supposed to be united to the Syrians by a solemn treaty. | “ |
| 11:23 | After the covenant is made, he will deceive | Antiochus made a league/covenant with the priest’s brother, Jason, to make him the priest of the temple.Or…Antiochus pretended friendship with the young Ptolemy and eventually came and subjected all to himself. | “ |
| 11:23 | …he will become strong with a small number | He came to Egypt with only a few men, so that he could throw off suspicion. Yet, they were valiant and were placed in the forts of Egypt, helping Antiochus to master Egypt. | “ |
| 11:24 | He will peacefully go to the richest places of the province | Egypt | “ |
| 11:24 | …do what his ancestors did not do | Rule over Egypt | “ |
| 11:24 | …he’ll disperse among the people the riches | He gave his followers much of his wealth, to curry their favor. | “ |
| 11:24 | …he’ll devise plans against the strongholds | He planned on seizing the strongholds of Egypt for himself, and after he seized them, the leadership of Egypt demanded restitution, where he made plans to secure the strongholds for himself, to prevent this. | “ |
| 11:24 | …this would only happen for a time | Egypt freed themselves from his yoke.Or…If “for a time” is the antithesis of “suddenly”, this points to the gradual unfolding of his plans to subdue Egypt. | “ |
| 11:25 | He will use power, courage, and great army against South | 2 Macc. 5:1 and 1 Macc. 1:17-18 show that Epiphanes made his 1st trip to Egypt with only a small number, but his second trip was made with a vast army to conquer. | “ |
| 11:25 | …South will raise army against him | Ptolemy Philometor heard of Antiochus’s preparations and gathered his own army. | “ |
| 11:25 | …South’s king won’t stand because of plans devised against him | He lost the battle because his leaders, corrupted by Antiochus, betrayed him | “ |
| 11:26 | Those who eat delicacies with him will destroy him…his army will lose and many will be killed | His leaders and confidants, influenced by Antiochus, betrayed him, and many died when his army lost. | “ |
| 11:27 | Both kings will desire evil, speaking lies at the same table | Ptolemy’s brother was looking to take the throne. Antiochus pretended friendship with Ptolemy in lieu of his own gain, while Ptolemy pretended to want to attack his brother with Antiochus, when really he planned on joining with his brother to defeat Antiochus. | “ |
| 11:27 | These plans won’t prosper | God won’t allow any of their schemes to succeed. | “ |
| 11:28 | North’s king will return to his homeland with riches | Antiochus Epiphanies returned to Syria with riches from his conquest. | “ |
| 11:28 | …North’s king’s heart is moved against holy covenant to do damage | On his way back to Syria, Epiphanies attacked Jerusalem, slewing 80,000, taking 40,000 prisoner, and selling 40,000 as slaves (see 2 Macc. 5:5-14). Much of this slaughter is attributed to a misunderstanding he had about their activities. | “ |
| 11:29 | At appointed time, North’s king will return towards South, different than before | Ptolemy was restored as king, and Antiochus took an army to Egypt (3rd trip) to conquer, but he did not have success this time. | “ |
| 11:30 | Ships from Cyprus will come against him | Ptolemy summoned Rome’s help against Antiochus, and Macedonian (Cyprus) ships came to help | “ |
| 11:30 | …North king grieves | Roman leaders commanded him with authority, forcing him to leave embarrassed | “ |
| 11:30 | …he returns enraged against covenant and does damage | He takes out his frustrations against the Jews: Antiochus sent his general with 22,000 men against Jerusalem, plundering and setting fire, killing, polluting, building his own castle, and causing the temple service to be abandoned. Later he commanded all Jews to conform to Grecian worship, causing Jewish worship to be abrogated and the temple to be consecrated to Jupiter Olympius. | 171 B.C. |
| 11:30 | …he favored those who forsook the covenant | Jason, Menelaus, and other apostate Jews who forsook God’s covenant and introduced false religion held correspondence with Epiphanies, to inform of the affairs of the Jews and draw them away from their religion. | c. 170 B.C. |
| 11:31 | North’s king will raise forces | He uses his own forces alongside the apostate Jews | “ |
| 11:31 | …to defile the sanctuary fortress | Antiochus and his men, who were unclean, entered the temple and made it a place of luxury and rioting, whoredom, and other sinful things. They made it a temple for Jupiter Olympius. | “ |
| 11:31 | …they took away the daily sacrifice | Antiochus forbade all sacrifices, including the daily sacrifice. | “ |
| 11:31 | …Placed the abomination of desolation | The Gentile soldiers drove all the people from the temple, making it desolate, and placed the statue of Jupiter upon the altar in the temple, along with other idols and unclean things. | “ |
| 11:32 | North’s king will corrupt by flattery those who deny the covenant | Antiochus gave good words, gifts, and presents to those who denied the Jewish religion and rituals. | “ |
| 11:32-33 | …those who know God will be strong and do mighty things…they will suffer persecution | The Maccabees and their followers were bold against Epiphanies and endured many persecutions (see Heb. 11:35 and Maccabees). | “ |
| 11:34 | When these Jews fall they will have a little help | Matthias, a priest, and his five sons (the Maccabees) were noted for the help they offered to the persecuted Jews, but they could only help a little compared to the devestation. | “ |
| 11:34 | …many shall join them, but not sincerely | Apostate Jews, along with those who weren’t firm either way, joined the cause of the Maccabees. Some did this to deceive and others did this so that they could receive their own glory. | “ |
| 11:35 | Sincere Jews will fall so that they can be purified | They are refined through persecutions and even death. | “ |
| 11:35 | …This will happen until the appointed end | The end of the trials.Or…The end of the Grecian monarchy (the 3rd empire of Daniel’s dream).Or…Christ’s return. | End of trials: 165 B.C. End of Grecian monarchy: c. 30 B.C. |
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