Reflections on Daniel 11

Daniel 11 (Contemporary English Version)
1. You also need to know that I protected and helped Darius the Mede in his first year as king.
   
2. What I am going to tell you is certain to happen. Four kings will rule Persia, one after the other, but the fourth one will become much richer than the others. In fact, his wealth will make him so powerful that he will turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
   
3. Then a mighty king will come to power and will be able to do whatever he pleases.
   
4. But suddenly his kingdom will be crushed and scattered to the four corners of the earth, where four more kingdoms will rise. But these won't be ruled by his descendants or be as powerful as his kingdom.
   
5. The king of the south will grow powerful. Then one of his generals will rebel and take over most of the kingdom.
   
6. Years later the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom will make a treaty, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north. But she will lose her power. Then she, her husband, their child, and the servants who came with her will all be killed. After this,
   
7. one of her relatives will become the ruler of the southern kingdom. He will attack the army of the northern kingdom and capture its fortresses.
   
8. Then he will carry their idols to Egypt, together with their precious treasures of silver and gold, but it will be a long time before he attacks the northern kingdom again. Some years later
   
9. the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom, but he will be forced back to his own country.
   
10. The sons of the king of the north will gather a huge army that will sweep down like a roaring flood, reaching all the way to the fortress of the southern kingdom.
    
11. But this will make the king of the south angry, and he will defeat this large army from the north.
    
12. The king of the south will feel proud because of the many thousands he has killed. But his victories won't last long,
    
13. because the king of the north will gather a larger and more powerful army than ever before. Then in a few years, he will start invading other countries.
    
14. At this time many of your own people will try to make this vision come true by rebelling against the king of the south, but their rebellion will fail.
    
15. Then the army from the north will surround and capture a fortress in the south, and not even the most experienced troops of the southern kingdom will be able to make them retreat.
    
16. The king who invaded from the north will do as he pleases, and he will even capture and destroy the holy land.
    
17. In fact, he will decide to invade the south with his entire army. Then he will attempt to make peace by giving the king of the south a bride from the northern kingdom, but this won't be successful.
    
18. Afterwards, this proud king of the north will invade and conquer many of the nations along the coast, but a military leader will defeat him and make him lose his pride.
    
19. He will retreat to his fortresses in his own country, but on the way he will be defeated and never again be seen.
    
20. The next king of the north will try to collect taxes for the glory of his kingdom. However, he will come to a sudden end in some mysterious way, instead of in battle or because of someone's anger.
    
21. The successor of this king of the north will be a worthless nobody, who doesn't come from a royal family. He will suddenly appear and gain control of the kingdom by treachery.
    
22. Then he will destroy armies and remove God's chosen high priest.
    
23. He will make a treaty, but he will be deceitful and break it, even though he has only a few followers.
    
24. Without warning, he will successfully invade a wealthy province, which is something his ancestors never did. Then he will divide among his followers all of its treasures and property. But none of this will last very long.
    
25. He will gather a large and powerful army, and with great courage he will attack the king of the south. The king of the south will meet him with a much stronger army, but he will lose the battle, because he will be betrayed
    
26. by members of the royal court. He will be ruined, and most of his army will be slaughtered.
    
27. The two kings will meet around a table and tell evil lies to each other. But their plans will fail, because God has already decided what will happen.
    
28. Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures. But on the way, he will attack the religion of God's people and do whatever else he pleases.
    
29. At the time God has decided, the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom again, but this time, things will be different.
    
30. Ships from the west will come to attack him, and he will be discouraged. Then he will start back to his own country and take out his anger on the religion of God's faithful people, while showing kindness to those who are unfaithful.
    
31. He will send troops to pollute the temple and the fortress, and he will stop the daily sacrifices. Then he will set up that "Horrible Thing" that causes destruction.
    
32. The king will use deceit to win followers from those who are unfaithful to God, but those who remain faithful will do everything possible to oppose him.
    
33. Wise leaders will instruct many of the people. But for a while, some of these leaders will either be killed with swords or burned alive, or else robbed of their possessions and thrown into prison.
    
34. They will receive only a little help in their time of trouble, and many of their followers will be treacherous.
    
35. Some of those who are wise will suffer, so that God will make them pure and acceptable until the end, which will still come at the time he has decided.
    
36. This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater than any god and will insult the only true God. Indeed, he will be successful until God is no longer angry with his people.
    
37. This king will reject the gods his ancestors worshiped and the god preferred by women. In fact, he will put himself above all gods
    
38. and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts.
    
39. With the help of this foreign god, he will capture the strongest fortresses. Everyone who worships this god will be put in a position of power and rewarded with wealth and land.
    
40. At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the kingdom of the north. But its king will rush out like a storm with war chariots, cavalry, and many ships. Indeed, his forces will flood one country after another,
    
41. and when they reach the holy land, tens of thousands will be killed. But the countries of Edom and Moab and the ruler of Ammon will escape.
    
42. The king of the north will invade many countries, including Egypt,
    
43. and he will take its rich treasures of gold and silver. He will also conquer Libya and Ethiopia.
    
44. But he will be alarmed by news from the east and the north, and he will become furious and cause great destruction.
    
45. After this, he will set up camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. Then he will be destroyed, and no one will be able to save him.
    
    

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    Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2, Daniel's vision of the four beasts in chapter 8, and the revelation given in chapter 11 of what was written in the Book of Truth all convey the same message. The message relates coming developments regarding God's plans for Israel under Persia and Greece. These developments will foreshadow what will happen with Israel toward the end of time during the periods referred to by many as the Tribulation and the Millennium. Following the fall of Babylon to Persia, the Persian king, Cyrus, released the Israelite captives who returned to their homeland and rebuilt Jerusalem. But this was only a partial restoration of Israel and a peace that was short-lived. The full restoration of Israel to the blessings that God has promised for her is yet to come in the period known as the Millennium.
    
    Concerning the revelation of the Book of Truth given in this chapter, Daniel's messenger explained that in the years to come, following Daniel's time, Persia would have a succession of four kings. The last of these four would oppose Greece who's ruler at that time would be who we know as Alexander the Great. Alexander would be very effective and would wrest world power from Persia. At Alexander's death, the Grecian kingdom would be divided into four parts: Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece. Verses 4-20 describe the warfare that will take place over the next two centuries between the four nations that split out of Greece. At times Israel was caught in the middle of these skirmishes and fell under the rule of various leaders.
    
    Then Antiochus IV Epiphanes comes on the scene in verse 21. He was considered the most contemptible of rulers that Israel experienced, and is thought to be a "type" or precursor of the Antichrist who will appear during the latter period known as the Tribulation. Antiochus sought to exterminate Judaism, forbidding the Jews to practice their religion. He also set up an altar of Zeus on the altar of burnt offerings outside the temple and had a pig offered on this altar. This is foretold in verse 31: "His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation." Verse 32 points out that "the people who know their God will be strong and take action." Those who remained strong experienced persecution and were martyred for their faith.
    
    All of this took place before the time of Christ. However, beginning with verse 38 the time period jumps to the near end of time to the Tribulation. The activities of the Antichrist told in these verses are similar to the descriptions of Antiochus IV. Under the Antichrist there will be much warfare and then he will occupy Israel which is a time known as the Tribulation which is aimed primarily at Israel. In the end, Israel will emerge from the tribulation under the Antichrist. The real Christ will appear once again, and will bring in His kingdom and Israel will be fully restored living a life of blessing as they return to their God.