Between traveling, busy days at work, and a computer crash, and asmatic bronchitis, I have not been able to post in a week.
Sorry about that, back to our regularly scheduled Bible readings.
Daniel 11:1-4 HCSB
1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and protect him. 2 Now I will tell you the truth. "Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants. 4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.
This is the continuation of the vision from chapter 10, and its explanation. We know that Daruis acknowledges God early in his reign after Daniels encounter in the lions den. The three king referred to are Ahasuerus (the king in the book of Esther),Artaxerxes, and Darius Hystaspes. The fourth king is Xerxes. The warrior king is Alexander the great. At this point the prophecy is similar to Daniels other prophecies.
Daniel 11: 5-17 HCSB
5 "The king of the South will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his. 6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times. 7 In the place of the king of the South, one from her family will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph. 8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, 9 who will enter the kingdom of the king of the South and then return to his own land. 10 "His sons will mobilize for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood,and will again wage war as far as his fortress. 11 Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a great multitude, but the multitude will be handed over to his enemy. 12 When the multitude is carried off, he will become arrogant and cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph. 13 The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies. 14 "In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come, build up an assault ramp, and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their select troops will not be able to resist. 16 The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful landwith total destruction in his hand. 17 He will resolve to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him. He will give him a daughter in marriage to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or support him.
The king of the south is Ptomely, who takes Egypt after Alexanders death. The commander is Selucius, who begins as one of Ptoelys generals, but rises to take over Syria. They forge a alliance, and then Ptomely forges an alliance through marriage of his daughter Berenice to Antiochus, ruler of Greece, who renounces his previous wife to take Berenice. The alliance fails due to the death of Ptomely. when he dies, Antiochus takes back his old wife Laodice, who then poisons him, and has Bernice and her family put to death before putting her own son, Seleucus Nicator, on the throne. Ptomely ii, the son of the first Ptomely, attacks Greece in retaliation. Years later, the sons of Seleucus Nicator, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great, will attack Egypt. Antiochus will be victorious and will become the leader after his brothers death. Years later, Antiochus will attack Egypt again, and this time takes some more of the kingdom, including Judea (the Beautiful Land). Antiochus tries to win the Kingdom by giving his daughter Cleopatra to Ptomley in marrige in hopes he will be defeated in battle and she will inherit the kingdom, but she sides with her husband and betrays her father.
Daniel 11: 18-28 HCSB
18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him. 19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more. 20 "In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger or in battle. 21 "In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peaceand seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be shattered, as well as the covenant prince. 23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation. 24 During a time of peace, he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time. 25 "With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him. 26 Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. 27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.
Antiochus also captures the Agean sea area and it's islands before being stopped by the Roman General Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, the commander referred to in verse 18. Defeated by Rome, he returns to his kingdom and is killed in a rebellion. He is replaced by his son Seleucus Philopater, who rules for only a few years,( Daniel list this as a few days in the vision, just as 7 year periods are listed as weeks in the previous vision in chapter 9.) but gains no new territory, only collecting taxes from his fathers conquered lands. He is poisoned by a rival in a bid for the throne, but it is taken by his brother Antiochus Epiphanes who is not much liked, but uses the turmoil of the situation to take the kingdom. He then invades Egypt and defeats his cousin Ptolemy Philometer, the son of Ptomley and Cleopatra and rightful heir to the kingdom. He makes an alliance with the defeated prince and then betrays him, taking away the kingdom with only a small force. He then plunders the land, including Judea, where he has a particular hatred for the Jewish priesthood. Ptomely rises up against him again, but is defeated by treachery. verse 27 refers to the 2 kings warring with each other, in verse 28, Antiochus persecutes the Jewish people in juead and his own lands.
Daniel 11: 29-45 HCSB
29 "At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time will not be like the first. 30 Ships of Kittimwill come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant. 31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action. 33 Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time. 34 When defeated, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely. 35 Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. 36 "Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished. 37 He will not show regard for the gods of his fathers, the god longed for by women, or for any other god, because he will magnify himself above all. 38 Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses-a god his fathers did not know-with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will deal with the strongest fortresses with [the help of] a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward. 40 "At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the beautiful land, and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of the Ammonites. 42 He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. 43 He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
Antiochus second campain against Egypt is not as sucessful, do to the intervention of the Roman fleet from Chittum (Kittimwill). Antiochus takes his frustration about being stopped by Rome out on the City of Jerusalem. Verses 30 through 44 seem to cover the events of the book of Macabees in the Apocrypha, which though not considered Scripture by Protestants and Evangelicals is consrdered to be historically accurate. Jesus makes refernce to the Abomataion of Desolation in Mark 13, though he does not seem to be speaking of this same event, for he refers to it as something that has not yet hapened. There are three other events which happen in Jerusalem after Jesus death which are similar to this event which he may be refering to, using the name as a historical allusion.
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