The North Versus The South Series

The Prophecies of Daniel

Part 11: The North versus the South (Daniel 11)

We have reached the eleventh week of our study on the prophecies found in the Old Testament book of Daniel. When we started this series I never thought we’d still be at it eleven weeks later. I never realized how much information and truths God had hidden in these twelve chapters. Anyone who thinks that the Old Testament is a dead book that has no bearing on the world today has obviously never studied the book of Daniel. It’s been absolutely incredible what we’ve learned so far, and I keep finding more and more to share with you.

Today, we’ve reached chapter eleven of the book of Daniel. This is a chapter that I had been dreading mainly because I didn’t understand it enough to feel like I could explain it. Oh, I got the gist of it, but I did not have a really good grasp of it. If you’ve read chapter eleven maybe you understand what I mean.

But something happened last Sunday that changed all that. I don’t know if a light bulb went on, a prayer was answered, or God reached down and smacked me on the back of the head, but suddenly things began to click. And what I started to see was amazing.

For example, those of you who’ve read chapter eleven about the kings of the north and south fighting and so forth: would you believe me if I told you that I found a reference in Daniel 11 to the Battle of Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38 and 39? Not only that, I also believe that the timing of this reference, if I’m interpreting it right, proves that the Battle of Gog and Magog will occur before the seven year Tribulation period. (Incredible isn’t it?!)

But before we get carried away let’s back up a bit and start at the beginning and lay some groundwork. In fact, that’s what we’re going to be doing today - laying the foundation for the in-depth study of next week.

Daniel chapter eleven is what the angel messenger of chapter ten calls the Book of Truth. It is in my opinion, the most detailed revelation of the future that you will find anywhere.

You see, prophecy is history written in advance, and Daniel eleven is so accurate and detailed in its prediction of what would happen that critics claim that it could not have been written in Daniel’s lifetime. The first twenty verses of this chapter cover a period of Middle East history from about 500 BC to 175 BC. So skeptics say that it couldn’t have been written until after 160 BC, that it would have been impossible for Daniel, or any other person, to have so accurately described this period of history before it actually occurred. (I wonder if these are the same people who think Nostradomus was the greatest most accurate prophet or seer of all time?) To me this is just further proof we serve the One True God.

The thing about the prophecy of Daniel eleven and twelve that makes it so powerful and different from any of his other visions is that there are no symbols or figures to interpret. It is a description given in literal language of historical events that were still future at the time of its writing. These events, we will see, will directly effect the Jews and Israel from the time of Daniel to the Second Coming of Christ.

I. Divisions of Chapter 11

Now, this chapter can be divided into three basic sections. The first section consists of verses two through twenty and are what I call the historical verses. They concern events, which from our point in time, have already occurred.

The second section encompasses verses twenty-one through thirty-five. These verses have what I call dual application or dual interpretation. What I mean by this is that these verses describe events that have already occurred and at the same time they describe events that will occur in the future during the latter days. They are describing two different periods of time, thus they have dual application or dual interpretations.

The third section or division of chapter eleven includes verses thirty-six through forty-five, and then continues into chapter twelve. This section deals exclusively with events of the end times, and more specifically with the Antichrist and his reign.

A. Section One (Historical Section - Verses 2-20)

So, let’s look briefly at the first section, the historical section, verses 2-20. We’re not going to cover this entire section in-depth, but I do want to discuss a few of the first verses with you.

But for those of you who are interested, in the take-home version of this teaching I’ve included an extra section that will take you verse by verse through Daniel 11 and compare it to what actually occurred in history and explains how each verse was literally fulfilled to the last detail.