DANIEL 11 IN THE LIGHT OF DANIEL 2
Daniel 2 outlines 4 major worldly kingdoms commencing with Babylon
The Daniel 2 image is made of 4 metals and clay to represent these kingdoms
These are Gold, Silver, Brass & Iron representing kingdoms outlined above (L)
Note the place of Alexander the Great's Grecian Kingdom of Brass in Dan 2:32
Alexander's kingdom has a distinct place in the torso & thighs - Daniel 2:32,33
Alexander's kingdom does not extend to the legs of iron or feet of iron & clay
Alexander's Kings of the Nth & Sth do not feature in the feet of Iron & Clay
Only one of the four Kingdoms is identified in Daniel 2 - BABYLON
Daniel 7,8 & 11 complete the identity of the kingdoms of the Daniel 2 image
CHIASTIC AB B'A' PATTERN OF DANIEL'S PROPHECIES
Daniel chapter 2 presents the image of a MAN representing Kingdoms (A)
Daniel chapter 7 presents the vision of BEASTS representing Kingdoms (B)
Daniel chapter 8 presents the vision of BEASTS representing Kingdoms (B')
Daniel chapter 11 presents the MEN who ruled in those Kingdoms (A')
The point about this chiastic structure is that the prophecies of Daniel 2,7,8 & 11 are all interconnected and cannot be broken up. The four worldly kingdoms which affected God's people are locked in, in the Daniel 2 image. The prophecies are a 'mirror-image' with chapter 2 and 7 mirrored in chapter 8 and 11 except in Daniel 8 & 11, Babylon has passed off the scene of prophecy. The rest of the kingdoms remain the same.
The interconnectedness of the prophecies allows for the correct understanding / interpretation of the symbols used for the various kingdoms in the Daniel 2 image and especially of the Beasts of Daniel 7, the little horn of Daniel 8 and the King of the North of Daniel 11.
DANIEL 8 AND 11
Daniel 8 is the last prophetic chapter employing symbols to represent Kingdoms
Daniel 11 is a detailed view of Daniel 8. The table below is a comparison of the two chapters.
DANIEL 8 DANIEL 11
Daniel 8:20 - Kings of Media and Persia | 1. Dan 11:2 - Kings of Media and Persia |
Daniel 8:21 - Grecia | 2. Dan 11:2 - Grecia |
Daniel 8:8 - Great horn, Strong, Alexander the Great | 3. Dan 11:3 - A mighty king - Alexander the Great |
Daniel 8:8 - Grecia became exceeding great | 4. Dan 11:3 - shall rule with great dominion, |
Daniel 8:8 - Grecia's Great horn broken | 5. Dan 11:4 - his kingdom shall be broken, |
Daniel 8:8 - Grecia scattered toward the four winds of heaven | 6. Dan 11:4 - Grecia divided toward the four winds of heaven; |
Daniel 8:25 - By peace shall he destroy many | 7. Dan 11:21 - but he shall come in peaceably, |
Daniel 8:11 - Prince of the Host. | 8. Dan 11:22 - the prince of the covenant. |
Daniel 8:11 - The Daily was "taken away" , i.e. lifted up the daily, exalted it | 9. Dan 11:31 - and shall (literally) take away the daily |
Daniel 8:13 - The transgression of desolation - Papal Rome | 10. Dan 11:31 - the abomination that maketh desolate - Papal Rome |
Daniel 8:10 - cast down..the host...& stamped upon them. | 11. Dan 11:33 - they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, |
Daniel 8:19 - for at the time appointed the end shall be. | 12. Dan 11:35 - it is yet for a time appointed. |
Daniel 8:24 - shall destroy the mighty & the holy people. | 13. Dan11:33 - wise fall by the sword,... by captivity by spoil |
Daniel 8:19 - The latter end of the indignation | 14. Dan 11:35 - even to the time of the end: |
Daniel 8:25 - stand up against the Prince of princes; | 15. Dan 11:37 - nor the desire of women, (Christ/churches) |
Daniel 8:24 - he shall destroy wonderfully, | 16. Dan 11:44 - he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, |
Daniel 8:25 - he shall be broken without hand. | 17. Dan 11:45 - shall come to his end,.. none shall help him. |
Daniel 8:26 - shut thou up the vision; | 18. Dan 12:4 - O Daniel, shut up the words, & seal the book, |
Daniel 8:26 - for it shall be for many days. | 19. Dan 10:14 - for yet the vision is for many days. |
Daniel 8:27 - but none understood it. | 20. Dan 10:1, 12:10 - he ...had understanding of the vision. |
THE VISION OF DANIEL 8 TAKES IN VERSES 1-14
THE VISION'S EXPLANATION TAKES IN VERSES 15-27
The Ram is the Kings of Media and Persia - verse 20
The Rough Goat is the King of Grecia - verse 21
The Little Horn is the King of Fierce Countenance - verse 23 cf Deut 28:49,50
The 2300 days was for many days even to the time of the end - verse 17
The details concerning the Ram, the He-Goat, the Little Horn aka the King of the Fierce Countenance and the 2300 days is given in Daniel 11.
DANIEL 11 EXPLAINS DANIEL 8 IN GREATER DETAIL
In Daniel 8 the vision of verses 1-14 is as follows:
THE RAM - MENTIONED IN VERSES 3-7
THE HE-GOAT - MENTIONED IN VERSES 5-8
THE LITTLE HORN - MENTIONED IN VERSES 9-13
THE 2300 DAYS - MENTIONED IN VERSE 14
The overall Explanation of the vision is given in verses 15-27
THE RAM ARE THE KINGS OF MEDIA AND PERSIA - VERSE 20
THE ROUGH GOAT IS THE KING OF GRECIA - VERSE 21
THE LITTLE HORN IS THE KING OF FIERCE COUNTENANCE - VERSE 23
THE 2300 DAYS WAS SHUT UP FOR MANY DAYS - VERSE 26
THE EXPLANATION OF DANIEL 8 FINDS GREATER DETAIL IN DANIEL 11
While Daniel 8 simply says the Ram are the Kings of Media and Persia (v 20) , Daniel 11 goes into more detail regarding these kings describing the fourth king as being far richer than the others.
Pythius, a Lydian, offered to help fund Xerxes’ invasion of Grecia. Upon asking who this man was, Xerxes received this reply: “...he is, next to yourself, the richest man of whom we have any knowledge.” Heredotus, book 7, sec 27, Loeb Classical Library, p343. cf. Est 1:4-7.
In 480 B.C. Xerxes assembled a mighty army to push Persian dominion into Europe:
“Xerxes dealt with mustering of his army, searching out every part of the continent...For what nation did not Xerxes lead...against Hellas? [Greece]” Heredotus, book 7, sec. 19, 21, trans. by A.D. Godley, Loeb Classical Library, p333-5.
But incredibly the Greeks defeated the Persians and though other Persian kings followed, Persia from Xerxes’ time began to decline in power.
“The wreck of Xerxes expedition is the turning point in the history of the Persian empire...The centre of gravity in the world’s history had shifted from Susa and Babylon [the main cities of the Persian Empire] to the Aegean Sea [Greece].” Encyclopaedia Britannica, (11th ed. 1911), Vol. 21, p211, art. Persia.
Scripture recognizes this shift in power and skips the intervening Persian kings
moving directly to the rise of the next empire, Greece, and it's first king Alexander the Great, 336-323BC.
An alternative translation reads, “He shall rouse all the realm of Greece.” This
would indicate that the failed invasion from Persia brought the victorious Greek states a sense of unity previously unknown. If this is the best translation it forms a natural transition to the next verse.
While Daniel 8 says the rough goat was the king of Grecia (v 21), Daniel 11 takes in verses 3-16 and verse 25, some 15 verses to describe the history of Grecia.
Alexander the Great died at the height of his powers. His young son was murdered and the Kingdom carved up by his four generals toward the four WINDS of heaven.
Alexander the Great's kingdom of Grecia takes in verses 3-16 & 25 of Dan 11
*Grecia is broken & divided toward the four WINDS of heaven - v 4 cf Dan 8:8
Following Alexander's death the Kingdom was divided up by his four generals
The Kingdoms finally resolved into TWO - the Kingdoms of the North & South
"King", "Kingdom" & "Beast" are interchangeable in prophecy - Dan 7:17&23
Hence, Kingdoms of the Nth & Sth referred to as Kings of the North & South
Seleucus being the King of the North & Ptolemy, the King of the South
Seleucus' kingdom was centred in Syria & Seleucia
Ptolemy's kingdom was centred in Egypt - Daniel 11:8,9
*Note the rise of the Little Horn in Daniel 8:8,9 is from a WIND and not a Horn
Horns grow out of the head of a beast - Daniel 7:20
Seleucus / the Seleucid Empire was one of the four horns of the He-Goat, (a Beast)
Horns do not grow out of another horn.
The Beast of Daniel 7 with its Little horn is here in Daniel 8 under this symbol
Hence, Antiochus Epiphanes cannot be the Little Horn of Daniel 8
Antiochus Epiphanes was one of many rulers of the King of the North's territory
Antiochus, therefore, ruled in one of the horns of the he-goat - the Seleucid horn
Antiochus could not be the Seleucid horn and the Little Horn simultaneously
The Little Horn became exceeding great compared to Grecia which was very great
Antiochus Epiphanes was neither of these.
The Little horn was the third part of the Daniel 8 vision to be explained - Dan 8:22
The Little horn arose in the latter time of the kingdoms of the four horns - Dan 8:23
The Little Horn is described as a King of fierce countenance - Daniel 8:23
Moses spoke of "a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand"- Deut 28:49,50
This power spoke a language Israel did not understand - the Romans spoke Latin
The Little Horn in Daniel 8 represents both Imperial Rome and Papal Rome.
Hence, the King of fierce countenance represents both Imperial & Papal Rome
The Roman general, Pompey, conquered the last vestige of the Seleucid Kingdom in 63/64 BC fufilling the prophecy of Daniel 11:16 that the Little Horn, aka the King of fierce countenance aka Rome would defeat the Grecian Empire's King of the North - the Seleucid Kingdom.
"The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies, dragging the entire east of the Mediterranean and large parts of Asia (Asia Minor, Greater Armenia, northern Mesopotamia and the Levant) into the war. The conflict ended in defeat for Mithridates; it ended the Pontic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire (by then a rump state), and also resulted in the Kingdom of Armenia becoming an allied client state of Rome." The Third MIthridatic War - Wikipedia (bold emphasis and underscore supplied)
*KON = King of the North
*KOS = King of the South
*OT = Old Testament
From this point on (Daniel 11:16), Rome becomes the centre of the prophecy.
However, Grecia's King of the South is still in existence in Egypt.
In Daniel 11:5-15 the battles have always been between the KON & KOS
Hence when Rome defeats the KON in v 16, it becomes the literal KON
The KON (Rome) finally defeats the King of the KOS (Egypt) in Daniel 11:25
Pagan Rome (KON) then transitions to Papal Rome in verses 30-31
Local & Literal Rome (KON) transitions to Global & Spiritual Rome.
With that transition, Papal Rome becomes the spiritual King of the North.
cf Daniel 2 where the Head of Gold is Babylon & the feet, spiritual Babylon
The failure to accept the transition from literal to spiritual in Bible prophecy results in skewed interpretations of Daniel and the Revelation. The call of the three angels messages of Revelation 14 & 18 that Babylon is fallen and to come out of her my people is a call to come out of SPIRITUAL BABYLON & not LITERAL BABYLON
The graphic below is one of many examples of the transition from the LITERAL to the SPIRITUAL in Bible prophecy.
*OT = Old Testament
Literal Babylon (head of Gold) to Spiritual Babylon (feet of Iron & Clay)
Literal Babylon is implied to be the Literal King of the North in Daniel 2
Hence Spiritual Babylon must be the Spiritual King of the North in Daniel 2
The 3 angels messages of Rev 14&18 concern spiritual & not literal Babylon
The literal Jezebel of 2Kings 9:30 transitions to Spiritual Jezebel of Rev 2:20
The literal *OT Euphrates transitions to the Spiritual Euphrates of Rev 16:12
THE KING OF THE FIERCE COUNTENANCE, aka ROME, aka THE KING OF THE NORTH, aka PAPAL ROME, aka THE KING OF DANIEL 11:36, aka THE KING OF THE NORTH.
SUMMARY OF DANIEL 11:30-39
The King of fierce countenance, Rome, the king of the North takes in vs 16-30
Rome conquers the king of the North in verse 16
Rome and Cleopatra - verse 17
Rome's Julius Caesar & his assassination - vs 18-19
Rome's Augustus Caesar - v 20, Luke 2:1
Rome's Tiberius Caesar, a vile person - v 21
Rome crucifies the Prince of the Covenant, Jesus Christ in 31AD - v 22
Rome's league with the Jews against Syrian aggression - v 23
Rome did what was never done before; acquiring territory peacefully - v 24.
Rome defeats the King of the Sth, Egypt in the Battle of Actium 31BC - v 25,26
KON & KOS' previous pretended reconcilliation, i.e. Rome & Egypt - v 27
Rome's Octavian's return with great riches following Egypt's defeat - v 28
Rome moves its capital to Constantinople at the time appointed - v 29
Rome weakening from Barbarian attacks, the ships of Chittim - vs 30
Rome's alliance with the apostate church who forsake the holy covenant - v 30
Rome transitions to Papal Rome - v 31
Papal Rome corrupted many. - v 32
God's faithful stood strong & witnessed under great peril - v 32
Papal Rome murdered many Christians by the sword, flame & captivity - v 33
Rome's persecution checked somewhat by the Protestant reformation - v 34
Rome's persecution ends fulfilling the '1260' years of Daniel 7:25 - v 35
Papal Rome, the King of v 36 cf the King of fierce countenance of Daniel 8:23
Papal Rome - a detailed description of, in verses 36-39
SUMMARY OF DANIEL 11:40-45
*KON = King of the North
*KOS = King of the South
The Kings of the North and South resume battle - v 40
Recall Rome defeated Alexander the Great's LITERAL King of the North in v 16
Rome became the LITERAL King of the North in verse 16
However, Alexander's empire did not end in verse 16.
Ptolemy's Egypt, the King of the South was still in existence in vs 16-25
Rome, the KON defeats Egypt the LITERAL King of the South in v 25
With the Battle of Actium in 31BC, Rome finally ends the Grecian empire - v 25
The BRASS of the Daniel 2 image has transitioned to the Legs of IRON - v 25
The Grecian Empire finally transitions to the Iron monarchy of Rome in the Daniel 2 image following Rome's defeat of Alexander the Great's Kingdom of Grecia in verses 16 and 25. There is now no place for Grecia in the rest of the image i.e. in the time of pagan and Papal Rome. Sincere folk have tried to resurrect Grecia's Kings of the North and South in verse 40, however, this is a private interpretation, not consistent with the rest of the prophetic picture in Daniel 2, 7 and 8
KON & KOS take on new meanings after the change to Papal Rome - v 31
The King of the North is now Rome
The King of the South (formerly Egypt) is now Atheism or the Atheistic state
Atheism which arose in France delivers Papal Rome its deadly wound in v 40
The KON is predicted to come at the KOS with ships & Chariots & Horsemen
Ships are symbolic of economic power (business) Psalm 107:23, Rev 18:17,19
Chariots and Horsemen are symbolic of Military power
Atheism is embedded in Communist Soviet Union, China & North Korea
Papal Rome is predicted thru' her ally, the USA to take out the Communists
The Soviet Union disintegrates through Pope John Paul II & President Reagan
The Hammer & Sickle lowered over the Kremlin on December 25,1991
The Berlin wall falls on November 9, 1989
Russia, China & North Korea will succumb in one way or another to the KON
The prophecy of Daniel 11:40 predicts that the King of the South, Atheism embedded in Communism, will succumb to the King of the North in one fashion or another so that "all the world wondered after the beast" (Rev 13:3)
*Countries is italicised in verse 41 and does not belong to the text, hence the many, like Edom, Moab and Ammon are referring to people
Rome predicted to enter the Glorious land, the true Christian church - v 41
Many (countries*) in the Glorious land will be overthrown - v 41
Many in the church will succumb to Rome's false doctrines - v 41
Edom, Moab and Ammon represent God's people who escape the KON - v 41
They represent God's people still in Babylon who escape from the KON - v 41
They escape by heeding the three angels messages, the tidings of v 44
Egypt represents Athesim embedded in Communism will. not escape - v 42
Communism will be overcome through economic & military power - v 42
Rome will become the economic powerhouse & control the money - v 43
cf the harlot of Rev 17 draped in jewels & pearls etc
The Libyans & Ethiopians are symbolic of the followers of the KON - v 43
*"at his steps" means to be a follower of someone, in this case , the KON
Tidings out of the East & North trouble the KON - v 44
These tidings from the East & North represent messages from God - v 44
The three angels messages thus represented anger the KON - v 44
Rome goes about with great fury to destroy & utterly get rid of many - v 44
This is fulfilled in Revelation 13 with the Mark of the Beast & the death decree
Rome finally tries to deceive and destroy God's people in v 45
However, Rome will come to its end and none shall help him - v 45
Tabernacles refer to places of worship (church) - v 45
Palace refers to the headquarters of a king or government - v 45
Verse 45, therefore, refers to the union of church and state - v 45
The union of Church and State results in persecution - v 45 & Rev 13:15
There is only one church that will be persecuted, the one in Rev 12:17
This church keeps the law of God including the 7th day Sabbath - Rev 12:17
The King of the North (Papal Rome) will come to his end - v 45
Jesus will rescue his people & destroy the KON at His second coming.
*"at his steps" means to be a follower according to scripture:
“The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: .......” Ps 37:23
“My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.” Job 23:11
“Get thee out and all the people that follow thee (margin that is at thy feet).” Exo 11:8
“all the people that follow me. (margin are at my feet)” 1Kings 20:10
Christ's people “follow His steps, who did no sin” 1 Pet 2:21, 22
Conclusion: To be at someones steps means to be a follower of theirs, either obeying them or imitating them. The Libyans & Ethiopians are the deceived followers of the papacy. The king of the north.
Check out other parts of the website regarding Daniel 11 and the King of the North
May God bless you as you study into these things - Luke 11:28
Elias
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