In Daniel 10, we read that God sent an angel to Daniel who was in Persia to give him an understanding of things to come.
Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
Daniel 10:14
The information that the angel gave to him is in Daniel 11 and 12, and this information was to be sealed until the time of the end.
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Daniel 12:9
Now in 2020, the time of the end has begun. Therefore, now this information should be unsealed and understood.
Let me begin by saying that verses 1 to 28 of Daniel 11 have been fulfilled and very long ago, and the rest, verses 29 to 45 of Daniel 11 and all of Daniel 12, will be fulfilled in these last days, a period that leads up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
I will now go through the prophecies that have been fulfilled one by one, and explain using history why these have been fulfilled.
Daniel 11:1 dates the beginning of the chapter to the reign of Darius II, who reigned over Persia from 423 BC to 404 BC, which was eight kings after Cyrus the great.
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
Daniel 11:1
After Darius II, there were three further kings of Persia, namely Artaxerxes II, Artaxerxes III and Artaxerxes IV. And then there was a fourth and final king, Darius III, who reigned over Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC. He provoked conflict with Greece, specifically Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.
And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
Daniel 11:2
In 330 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Persia. Undefeated in battle, wielding the Macedonian phalanx, he went on to establish the empire of Grecia, one of the largest empires of the ancient world stretching from Greece to northwestern India.
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
Daniel 11:3
Alexander the Great died at the age of 32. When he died, his throne had no legitimate heir, and so his kingdom was broken up. After a series of wars between Alexander’s generals, four successor kingdoms emerged. Cassander ruled Macedonia. Lysimachus ruled Thrace. Ptolemy ruled Egypt. And Seleucus ruled the rest, all of the areas in the north and east.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.
Daniel 11:4
During the reign of Ptolemy II, the Ptolemaic kingdom expanded through war into Cilicia and Caria, and the wealth and splendour of the court at Alexandria were at its height.
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
Daniel 11:5
After a peace agreement between the Seleucid kingdom in the north and the Ptolemaic kingdom in the south, Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy II the king of the south, was given in marriage to Antiochus II the king of the north. However, when Ptolemy II died in 246 BC, Antiochus II went back to his first wife Laodice. Shortly thereafter, Antiochus II was assassinated by Berenice, who claimed regency for her infant son. But then, she and her son were assassinated by Laodice. So, as prophesied, the king of the north who married the daughter of the king of the south did not stand, and the king’s daughter of the south did not retain the power of the north.
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
Daniel 11:6
The brother of Berenice, a branch of her roots, assumed the throne of the south as Ptolemy III. He sought to avenge his sister’s death by invading the north, the Laodicean War 246-241 BC. In that war, the south Ptolemy III prevailed over the north Seleucus II. Ptolemy III stopped only when a rebellion broke out in Egypt. Ptolemy III died in 222 BC at the age of 60, which was more years than Seleucus II, who died in 225 BC at the age of 40.
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
Daniel 11:7-9
After Ptolemy III, a new war was fought between his son Ptolemy IV of the south and his enemy’s heir Antiochus III of the north, 219-217 BC. During this war, there was a revolt in Alexandria led by Cleomenes III of Sparta, stirring up Ptolemy IV against his own fortress, as prophesied.
But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
Daniel 11:10
On 22 June 217 BC, Ptolemy IV led a massive army against the army of Antiochus III in the battle of Raphia. This battle is said to be one of the largest in the ancient Hellenistic world, involving on the battlefield altogether some 150000.
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
Daniel 11:11
After that defeat at Raphia, Antiochus III would turn his attention to the east, to secure his empire of the north and to strengthen his forces. When Ptolemy IV died and the infant Ptolemy V succeeded to the throne of the south, Antiochus III plotted with Philip V of Macedon to carve up all of the south.
And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
Daniel 11:12-14
So Antiochus III of the north moved against the infant Ptolemy V of the south. At the battle of Panium, 200-198 BC, the Ptolemaic army led by Scopas of Aetolia was annihilated by Antiochus III. Thus Coele-Syria came under Seleucid control, including Jerusalem and all of Judea, “the glorious land”.
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
Daniel 11:15-16
Antiochus III married Princess Laodice of Pontus. Pontus was a people of Persian descent. In 193 BC, Antiochus III created a cult for his wife, thereby corrupting her. A year later, he pushed her aside and married someone else.
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
Daniel 11:17
The first heir apparent of Antiochus III, named simply Antiochus, incestuously married his younger sister Laodice IV, drawing reproach. And then, he died suddenly in 193 BC.
After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.
Daniel 11:18
In 191 BC, Rome defeated the Seleucids at Thermopylae, and in 190 BC, again Rome defeated the Seleucids at Magnesia. In 188 BC, the Treaty of Apamea between Seleucia and Rome forced Antiochus III to give up his lands in Europe and in Asia west of the Taurus mountains. As a result of a diminished Seleucia, some outlying provinces rebelled. Thus, Antiochus III turned his face toward the fort of his own land. And in 187 BC in Persia, pressed for funds and while pillaging a temple of Bel at Elymais, Antiochus III fell.
Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
Daniel 11:19
Antiochus III was succeeded by Seleucus IV Philopator, his second son. It was this king of the north who sent the tax collector Heliodorus to Jerusalem to seize the treasures of the Jewish temple. When Heliodorus returned from Jerusalem, he assassinated Seleucus IV and installed the five-year-old son of Seleucus IV as a puppet king.
Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
Daniel 11:20
When Mithradates, the third son of Antiochus III, returned from Rome, he obtained the kingdom by flatteries, co-ruling with the young puppet king. But then he murdered both Heliodorus and the young puppet king, and assumed the throne for himself. And when Mithradates did become king, he named himself Antiochus IV Epiphanes. By Epiphanes, he meant “God manifest”.
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Daniel 11:21
Antiochus IV made a league with Rome. Because of this alliance, he rose to power with the help of Eumenes II of Pergamon, Rome’s principal ally in the region, a strong but small people, as prophesied.
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him, he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall be strong with a small people.
Daniel 11:22-23
Around 170 BC, Ptolemy VI of the south wanted Antiochus IV of the north to give back Coele-Syria. Thus the north and the south went to war once again. In this war, Antiochus IV advanced into Egypt proper and conquered all but Alexandria. He even captured Ptolemy VI, but allowed him to rule from Memphis as his puppet king.
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they forecast devices against him.
Daniel 11:24-25
In 168 BC, Antiochus IV attacked the south again, moving against Egypt and Cyprus. But before he could reach Alexandria, Rome stopped him. Rome fed of the portion of his meat, as the prophecy reads, because Seleucia was paying tribute to Rome per the Treaty of Apamea. Before Antiochus IV could take Alexandria, the Roman ambassador Gaius Popillius Laenas delivered a message from the Roman Senate that demanded Seleucia withdraw from Egypt and Cyprus or else face war with Rome. The ambassador famously drew a line in the sand around Antiochus IV and said, “Before you leave this circle, give me a reply that I can take back to the Roman Senate.” Thus Antiochus IV was compelled to withdraw. Thus his ambition for more territory was destroyed.
Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
Daniel 11:26
After this, both the north and the south despised each other, and sought to fight each other but they could not: “for yet the end shall be at the time appointed”. They could not because of the rise of Rome, a kind of Pax Romana.
And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
Daniel 11:27
Then Antiochus IV turned his attention to Judea. He empowered the Hellenized and persecuted the non-Hellenized. He insisted that all Jews worship the god Zeus of Greek polytheism. In 167 BC, his army marched into the Jewish temple at Jerusalem and put in there a statue of Zeus. This prompted the Maccabean revolt, a guerrilla war that eventually liberated the whole of Judea from the Seleucid empire. The Maccabean revolt culminated in the cleansing and re-dedication of the Jewish temple on 25th December 165 BC, which is why Hanukkah is celebrated every 25th December, the same day as Christmas.
Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
Daniel 11:28
That concludes the prophecies of Daniel 11 that have come to pass.
The rest of Daniel 11, verses 29 to 45, and the parts of Daniel 12 that prophesy are prophecies that have not yet to come to pass. These prophecies will come to pass during the final three and a half years leading up to the day of Christ.
Antiochus VI Epiphanes can be regarded as a precursor to the Antichrist. For one thing, he claimed to be “God manifest”. For another, the name Antiochus sounds like “Antichrist”. Furthermore, though he was essentially Greek, he was from the land of Assyria. Further yet, it was he who decided to place the abomination in the temple of God.
In closing, I want to draw attention to Daniel 11:40.
All through Daniel 11, and even in Daniel 11:40, the word “south” in Hebrew is literally “Negev”. In the days of the kingdoms of Seleucia and Ptolemy, the Negev desert was a part of the kingdom of Ptolemy, that is to say Egypt. Since 1948, however, the Negev has been a part of the modern state of Israel. Therefore, the south in Daniel 11:40 is Israel!
The north in Daniel 11:40 is the fourth beast of Bible prophecy, which means the king of the north is the Assyrian, or the Antichrist, of the time of the end.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Daniel 11:40
This explains Daniel 11:29.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
Daniel 11:29