Morning Light – October 6th, 2017 – Daniel 11: Is the Devil in the Details?

Morning Light – Daniel 11
Today: [Daniel 11] Is the Devil in the Details? In this chapter, the angel that comes to Daniel gives him a minute and very detailed description and timeline of events beginning 6 centuries before Christ right down to our day. The whole of the narrative culminates in a description of a world leader we identify as the anti-Christ who at this time does not fit any particular leader, however we do see a profoundly familiar global landscape that seems poised to usher in this great opposer of God.
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[Dan 11:1-45 KJV] 1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, [even] I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than [they] all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 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 beside those. 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. 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, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [these] times. 7 But out of a branch of her roots shall [one] stand up in his estate, which 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: 8 And shall also carry captives 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. 9 So the king of the south shall come into [his] kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 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. 11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, 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. 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]. 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. 14 And in those times there 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. 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither [shall there be any] strength to withstand. 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. 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. 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. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes [in] the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. 21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 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. 23 And after the league [made] with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
In chapter 10 we see Daniel receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel which was cut short apparently when the angel departs to assist Michael in resisting the prince of Persia. Now in chapter 11 we see the angel has returned to continue explaining to Daniel the meaning of his recent dreams and visions. This chapter is written initially in the first person and the speaker is the angel himself. This is unique in the scriptures in that we find a chapter composed by someone other than a human, but in this case by an angel – specifically Gabriel himself.
Gabriel relates to Daniel how that Darius, the king of Persia when Babylon was overthrown was strengthened to do so by angelic assistance. The angel says that he “stood to confirm” Darius as the king of Persia and to strengthen him in Darius’ conquest of Babylon. Again, secular history questions the existence of Darius, and at best equates him with Cyrus, because Darius is only spoken of in the scripture. Darius and Cyrus are so closely connected that some suppose they are actually the same person or that they were twins, each sitting on the throne one after the other.
The angel tells Daniel that there will be three kings after Darius, and a fourth king (Xerxes) who will attempt and fail to conquer Greece. After Xerxes and his conquest of Greece a “mighty king” mentioned in v. 3 will stand up “with great dominion”. This is Alexander the Great, however v. 4 states that when he stands up, his kingdom will be divided, but not to his children. This took place when Alexander dies suddenly, and his empire is divided between “four winds” (v. 4) which are the four generals that took over the empire of the fallen conqueror.
V. 5 speaks of “the king of the south” which is Ptolemy I of Egypt and “one of his princes” which points to Seleucus I who would usurp him and have his on kingdom (initially Babylonia and then he added extensive territories both east and west). V. 6 states that there would be an alliance between these two rulers through marriage of the daughter of the king of the south which was Bernice, the daughter of Ptolemy II. However, v. 6 says this queen would not retain her power, nor her father. Bernice was executed after a conspiracy of one of her husbands former wives and her father died about the same time. V. 7 tells us that out of Bernice’s lineage (her brother in fact) a conqueror would come who in fact did over throw the queen and the kingdom that usurped his sister Bernice through execution.
The passage goes on to describe prophetically in minute detail the intrigues, wars and successions of the originating four generals who took over Alexander’s empire after his death, even with a reference to Cleopatra in v. 17 who would betray her husband Ptolemy V as in fact she did – all according to prophetic disclosure of the angel to Daniel almost 400 years before the events took place.
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 prey, and spoil, and riches: [yea], and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. 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 forecast devices against him. 26 Yea, they that feed of 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. 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. 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. 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 intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits]. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 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. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 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. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds 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 gain. 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. 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. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: 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. 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 make away many. 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.
The times of Cleopatra I, bring us down to 200 years before the birth of Christ and the angel continues detailing the developing of nations that rise and fall, with new kings and queens and territories taken either by confederacy or by conquest. In v. 28 the prophecy discloses that a king (Antiochus) would plunder the temple and massacred many Jews in the city of Jerusalem which took place in 169 BC. Verse 30 states that Antiochus would be assaulted by the “ships of Chittim” which were ships from the west under the command of Roman authority. Antiochus would be aided by those describes as “forsaking the covenant” who were apostate Jews who aided Antiochus in his resistance against the Roman. At about this time according to v. 31 Antiochus did compel the daily sacrifice in the temple to cease, and profaned the altar by erecting a statue of Zues in the Holy Place. This is something that Jesus said would happen again according to Matt. 24:15; and Luke 21:20. This is important to note because prophecy teachings that say the abomination of desolation already took place 150 years before Christ overlook the fact that Jesus declares this will again occur:
Matt. 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
This is not Jesus saying that what Antiochus did in plundering and profaning the temple did not apply. What is clearly indicated is layered fulfillment of prophecy, including an immediate fulfillment, at times an intermediate application and an ultimate fulfillment. The point is that prophecy is layered, and some believe that prophecy is cyclical like the Mayan long count calendar and that prophetic events reoccur which is a view point that is not completely without merit, but does not usurp the understanding that one day all will be finally and ultimately fulfilled at the end of the dispensation of man.
The angel pauses in his narrative and makes the observation that in the midst of these upheavals of nations and regime changes from political intrigues or war that the people of God – those that know their God in whatever time they find themselves will be strong and do exploits, and (v. 33) and instruct many, even though there would be times of persecution, imprisonment and death which has indeed befallen the faithful in ancient times, during the middle ages and in the day we live in as an ongoing reality.
The angel underscores the layered nature of prophetic fulfillment in verse 35 by saying yes when persecution comes those of understanding will see this from the lens of apocalyptic events – but the END IS YET FOR AN APPOINTED TIME. This important because in the days of Nero the believers thought he was the anti-Christ and the end was near. During the days of Hitler, many though he was the anti-Christ and the end was near – but in all of this there was yet (as warned by and emphasized by the angel) a further and ultimate fulfillment that is not yet, regarding an anti-Christ that would come and prosper for a time and then be defeated.
Verses 36 to the end of the chapter then, give us a detailed description of the anti-Christ who will culminate the enmity of man against the living God at the time of the conclusion of the dispensation of men. Some have applied this description to Antiochus Epiphanes but the circumstances and descriptors do not fully match and therefore point to an anti-Christ yet to come.
1. He will be willful, possibly a dictator
2. He will be a narcissist magnifying himself against God.
3. He will speak dark and profound sayings “marvelous things” that will deceive many.
4. He will seem to prosper in all that he sets out to do.
5. He will have a godly upbringing, but will have forsaken his religious upbringing.
6. He will be desired by women, but will magnify himself above the need for companionship or the love of a mate (Hitler is an example of this who declared himself married to the state so that he could seduce the women of Germany enmass).
7. He shall honor the “God of forces” in other words, he will be a universalist as many of the founding fathers of our nation were, who believed in God as a force for good in the earth but not in a personal God or in having a personal relationship with God.
8. He will divide the land for gain, in other words he will advocate geopolitical alliances for the purposes of economic stability and expansion.
9. He shall be resisted by the “king of the south” which could point to Egypt, Asia, or even South America. There is an ominous absence of any metaphor pointing to the United States as being in opposition against this charismatic world leader.
10. He will attempt to annex in some way the Holy Land and will be defeated by Israel and other surrounding countries will benefit.
11. He will have power over treasures of gold and silver. He will be a policy maker that will be able to influence by his authority the global economy.
12. News from the east and the north will trouble him. He will not have authority over Russia or China and these nations will oppose his economic policies. We see from this that he will be a man of the western world and derive his power and authority from these nations and probably a confederation of these nations.
13. He will make every effort to root himself in Israel and Jerusalem itself but will ultimately come to his end.
These things all suggest compatible traits and events that are prophesied elsewhere in the bible. We cannot at this time point to a specific man or even the nation that he might arise from, but we can say that the geopolitical climate describes as the backdrop for his power fits exactly the day that we live in.