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.
1. The Persian Empire
For now let’s read Daniel 11:2, "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece."
Last week when we read chapter ten, verse one, we found out that Daniel was receiving this revelation in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, which was the year 536 BC. The three kings that would come after Cyrus then would be Ahasueres (Cambyses 529-522 BC), Artaxerxes (Pseudo-Smerdis 522 to 521 BC), and Darius (Darius Hystaspes 521 to 485 BC).
The fourth king was Xerxes (485 to 465 BC) whose incredible wealth allowed him to send out huge armies to fight the enemies of the Persian Empire. He invaded the kingdom of Greece in 480 BC though he failed to conquer it. Xerxes was also the king who married the Hebrew girl, Esther, and was instrumental in saving the Jews from extermination during his reign.
Now, there were several other Persian kings after Xerxes, but since most prophecy touches only on major events we find that these other kings are not mentioned here.
2. The Greek Empire
Now let’s read verses 3 and 4. Daniel 11:3-4, "Then a mighty king will appear who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. [4] After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others."
Okay, all you prophecy scholars, I hope that by this point you were able to recognize who these two verses were referring to. The mighty king, of course, is Alexander the Great of the Greek Empire. His empire was broken up and divided four ways, but not amongst his descendants, just as verse four says. At Alexander’s death the Greek Empire was divided between his four generals. The four divisions were: Cassander - Greece, Lysimachus - Turkey, Seleucus - Syria, and Ptolemy - Egypt.
Starting with verse five we have the pre-written history of the wars that occurred between two of these generals. They are called the king of the north and the king of the south. Now since Daniel 10:14 told us that this prophecy concerns the Jews and Israel and how they will be treated by the Gentile world, then the king of the north and the king of the south must have something to do with Israel.
Israel is in fact caught between these two generals and their feuds. So if you look at the map that I gave you in your handouts and find Israel, you will see that the north of Israel is the Selecuid Empire. General Seleucus and his descendants then are what the Bible refers to as the kings of the North. South of Israel is the Ptolemaic Empire. That means that General Ptolemy and his descendants are the kings of the South.
We’re not going to go into these wars in detail. That is what the extra section in the take-home teaching will do. Instead let’s keep laying our groundwork.
B. Section Two (Dual Interpretation/Application)
Section two is the part of chapter eleven that has a dual interpretation or application. It’s first application is historical.
1. Historical Interpretation
The historical interpretation concerns a man from the Seleucid Empire; thus he was a king of the North. This man’s name was Antiochus Epiphanes. His actions and treatment of the Jews and their Temple have led some prophecy scholars to claim that he was the Antichrist. This belief or teaching has then led to what is called the preterist interpretation of prophecy.
The preterists basically believe that all of prophecy has already been fulfilled. That Christ¡¦s Second Coming has already occurred, that His kingdom is already here on earth, etc. Now, I’m not going to get into all the arguments against that interpretation of prophecy except to say that when you do a serious, objective study of prophetic Scripture the preterist theory just doesn¡¦t make sense.
But the actions and character of Antiochus Epiphanes were such that they do appear to mimic what the Bible says the Antichrist will be like. He did desecrate the Jewish Temple by offering a pig on the altar and setting up an image of Zeus. But he was not the Antichrist. He fulfills most, but not all of the prophecies concerning this future End Times leader. Therefore, Antiochus Epiphanes is what we call a foreshadow of the Antichrist.
There are many foreshadows in the Bible of future events or people. Isaac was a foreshadow of Christ. Joseph was a foreshadow of Christ. The feasts of Israel are foreshadows of future prophetic events. Foreshadows are people or events that give us an idea of something or someone that will appear in the future. That is what Antiochus Epiphanes was - a foreshadow of the future Antichrist.
2. Future Interpretation
Now, this section also has a future interpretation or application, which concerns the End Times. From verse twenty-one to the end of the chapter the king of the North becomes a reference to the Antichrist. This fact fits with our interpretation of the Antichrist from previous chapters.
I know it’s been a while, but do you remember a few weeks ago when we talked about the Antichrist rising from one of the four divisions of the Greek Empire? Do you remember which one we concluded he would come from? The Seleucid Empire centered around Lebanon, Syria and northern Iraq. Look at your maps. The Seleucid Empire is the king of the North, so we are correct in saying that the Antichrist is also the king of the North in these End Times verses.
Also notice on your map how large of a territory the Seleucid Empire controlled at the height of its power. The Antichrist is also going to start small in the area of Lebanon, Syria, and Northern Iraq and then conquer many countries and lands.
Remember the 10 kings represented by the ten toes of the statue and the ten horns on the fourth beast that came to power with the Antichrist? Look at the modern day countries in the territory of the kingdom of the North. How many of them are there? TEN!! (I’m not saying that these countries will be the ten kings or kingdoms, but it sure is interesting that there are ten modern countries in the territory where the Antichrist is supposed to arise and conquer.)
3. Parallel Verses
You may also have noticed in your handouts a sheet entitled, Parallel Verses in Daniel Chapter 11. Please remember to bring this handout and the map back next week with you. We’ll use them more then, but I wanted to give them to you today so that you’d have a chance to look at and study them for yourself for a while before we hit them hard.
But look at this handout concerning the parallel verses in chapter 11. The left-hand column contains the verses found in what we have called the second section or division of chapter 11. These are the verses with the dual meanings. The right-hand column contains the verses found in the third section or division of chapter 11.
I wrote them out for you this way so that you can see that the verses which are directly across from each other are referring to the same future events. Section two and section three are parallel passages. By putting them together we get a little better picture of the End Time events they are referring to.
Another thing I have come to realize while studying this chapter is that when it comes to these verses describing the End, or more specifically the Tribulation Period, they are talking about events that will occur during the first half of the Tribulation. They refer to what happens before the Antichrist comes in to Jerusalem and desecrates the Temple and rules as a god for 42 months. The second half of the Tribulation isn’t referred to until chapter 12.
That’s all I’m going to say about the handouts for now. We’ll get into the verse-by-verse interpretation of them next week. So study these and bring them back next Sunday.
II. The Mahdi
Since I’m just laying groundwork this week there is one more thing I’d like to share with you to aid in your understanding of this passage and all End Time prophecies. I mentioned last week that the Muslims also have End Time apocalyptic beliefs, and that many of them are warped versions of our own beliefs. Since, I believe the Antichrist will be a Muslim I wanted you to know just a few basic Islamic beliefs that may help us get a better grasp on what is happening in this chapter.
The Muslims believe one of the signs of the End Times is the appearance of the Mahdi.
"The Shiite [Muslims] have a teaching called the Doctrine of the Twelve. It states that after Mohammed, there were 11 caliphs [imams, leaders]. The 12th was the son of the 11th, and he disappeared when he was a young boy.
"Since the graves of the other 11 [caliphs] are known and the grave of the 12th has never been discovered, the tradition states that the 12th caliph had been supernaturally protected by Allah for the past 1,200 years. Most say he is in a desert in Arabia. Sill others believe he is being preserved in Iraq.
"Since the disappearance of the 12th Imam [caliph] in 878 AD, Muslims have been expecting a final prophet to appear. He is called the Mahdi and will lead a last-days Islamic revival. This man, according to tradition will be a military expert who will bring the world under the control of Islamic law and justice.
"The Shiites, which is the more radical group, are placing high expectations upon the soon arrival of this prince who will conquer Israel and the West. Many will tell you that it won¡¦t be long now" (Stone, Unleashing, pp.64-65).
Now after doing some research about the Mahdi and what the Muslims believe he will do when he comes, I truly believe their Mahdi could very well be the Christian Antichrist. Here are some reasons why I think this:
The Mahdi will come at a time of confusion, intense disputes and violent death. The Antichrist will come at a time of wars between countries and cultures and religions (Matthew 24:4-7; Daniel 12:1)
When the Mahdi comes there will be earthquakes and times of famine. Matthew 24:7 and Rev. 6 tells us that there will be famines and earthquakes in diverse places.
The Mahdi will be a man of war who will fight many battles and gain great wealth for Islam. The Antichrist will be a man of war who will plunder the enemy and gain great wealth and power. (Daniel 11)
The Mahdi is believed to arise from somewhere in Iraq. The Antichrist will come from the Lebanon, Syria, northern Iraq area (Daniel 8 and 11).
The Mahdi will reign for 5, 7, or 9 years depending on which tradition you read. The Antichrist will reign for a period of 7 years. (Daniel 9:27)
The Mahdi will unite the Muslim world. The Antichrist will bring 10 kings under his submission (Rev. 17:12).
The Mahdi will punish with a sword those who do not follow or convert to Islam. The Antichrist will behead those who do not worship his image or take his mark (Rev. 6:8, 20:4).
The Mahdi will come riding on a white horse. The Antichrist will come riding on a white horse. (Rev. 6:2)
So, just from these few parallels you can see why I believe the Antichrist of the Bible will be the Muslim’s Mahdi. And there are many more parallels in Christian and Islamic apocalyptic beliefs.
Keep these things in mind and next week when we start studying vs. 21-35 in-depth hopefully things will make more sense. Because after studying this passage, I’m certain only an Antichrist who is Islamic and from the Middle East fits the prophecies of Scripture perfectly.
Sermon Sources:
Larkin, Rev. Clarence. The Book of Daniel. Clarence Larkin Estate, Glenside, PA. Copyright 1929.
Stone, Dr. Perry. Daniel: Unlocking the Secrets of the Scroll. Two-hour VHS teaching. Copyright 2007. www.perrystone.org.
Stone, Dr. Perry. Unleashing the Beast. Book. Voice of Evangelism and Pathway Press. Cleveland, TN. Copyright 2003.
