March 3, 2013
Pastor Mike Albin
Living Hope Church
Daniel’s Gospel:
Worship the God of the Jews
“…acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of
men and gives them to anyone He wishes.” Daniel 4:25
“Daniel, the prophet….Let the reader understand.”
—Jesus (Matthew 24:15)
Daniel 11:1-35
Daniel 11:1-35 reveals prophecies about three military/political powers that would impact
Israel:
1. Daniel 11:2–4 describes Alexander The Great’s rise and the future division of his
conquest between the four generals.
2. Daniel 11:5–20 predicts the struggles between the Ptolemys (The kings “of the South” in
Egypt) and the Seleucids (The kings “of the North” in Syria).
3. Daniel 11:21–35 predicts Antiochus IV persecution of the Jews.
The Prophecies in Daniel 11
Their Fulfillment in History
v. 2 “three more kings will appear in Persia”
v. 2 “Then a fourth king…will stir up
everyone against Greece”
Kings were Cambyses (529-522BC)
Smerdis (522BC)
Darius I (521-486BC)
Xerxes I led a 2 ½ million man army invasion
of Greece, but lost to them at Salamis (480BC)
This invasion embittered the Greeks for revenge.
v. 3 “a mighty king will appear who will
rule with great power and do as he pleases
Alexander the Great (356-323BC) conquered all
the nations from Turkey to India, including Persia
avenging the invasion of Persian King Xerxes I
v. 4 “this empire will be broken up and
parceled out toward the four winds…
given to others.”
Alexander’s kingdom is divided among his four
generals after his untimely death.
v. 4 “it will not go to his descendants”
Neither Alexander’s sons, nor his half brother,
received his kingdom
v. 5 “the king of the south will become
strong”
This is Ptolemy I Soter who became king of Egypt
in 304BC.
v. 5 “one of his commanders will
become even stronger”
This is Seleucus I Nicator who in 305BC became
Persia and Syria
v. 6. “an alliance will not last”
Egypt and Syria allied by royal marriage that was
ended by the assassination of Egyptian bride by the
Syrian’s husband ex-wife.
v. 7, 8 “he will attack the forces of the
king of the north and be victorious”
To avenge his sister’s murder Egyptian
King Ptolemy Evergetes successfully invades Syria.
Vs. 9-11 “The king of the north will
invade the realm of the king of the
South…the king of the South will
march out…and defeat the king
of the North.”
To avenge Egypt’s invasion Syrian King Seleucis
Callinicus invaded Egypt and lost.
Vs. 12-19 Palestine is the battleground
between Egypt and Syria
Wars between Syria’s Antiochus III and Egypt’s
Ptolemy IV Philopater decimate the land of Palestine
v. 20 “tax collector to maintain
royal splendor…destroyed”
Seleucis IV Philopater, who raised taxes to pay
tribute to Rome, was poisoned.
Vs. 21-23 “succeeded by a
contemptible person…through
intrigue”
This is the rise of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) the
Syrian ruler; he is the “little horn” described in
Daniel 8:9-12, 23-25 who foreshadows the
Antichrist.
Vs. 24-25 Syrian King is
victorious against the Egyptians
Antiochus IV grows in power and controls Egypt
Vs. 29-31 Syrian King is restrained
and angered.
Antiochus IV is opposed by Rome and takes out
his anger by persecuting the Jews.
vs. 34, 35 Syrian King devastates
the Chosen people
Antiochus IV brings holocaust to the nation of Israel
So What?
Isaiah 2:3-5; Zechariah 9:9, 10; Habakkuk 2:20
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:9, 10