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Daniel's account of the future recorded in chapter 11 is so astonishing in its detail that critics who don't believe in prophecy have no place to go except to claim desperately that it was written after that history took place. Yet any claim of that nature meets with impossible credibility problems, because copies of Daniel have been found dating earlier than many of the events described in these passages. Not only that, but the book was translated into Greek around 270BC as part of the Septuagint, and this version is identical to Hebrew versions. Chapter 11 and 12 work together as one vision, with chapter 10 forming the prelude or introduction. The vision can be divided into 3 parts:
While Daniel was fasting, an angel appeared to him above the water of the Tigris River. This angel, described in terms similar to those used by John several hundred years later in describing his Revelation of Jesus Christ, has talked about spiritual warfare. He now begins to describe war between men, in particular the ongoing battles over several generations between the Seleucid empire (the "king of the North") and the Egyptian empire of Ptolemy (the "king of the South"). Daniel 11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and strengthen him. Continuing his statement begun at the end of chapter 10, the angel says that he took action to support Darius the Mede and protect him from spiritual attack. The Hebrew is not clear about whether the "him" in this verse refers to Darius or to Michael the Archangel, who was the subject at the start of this sentence. Daniel 11:2 Now, I tell you the truth: three kings will yet stand up in Persia; and then a fourth who will be far richer than the others. By power gained through his riches he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. The three kings are Cambyses (Cyrus' elder son) from 529-523, an imposter named Gaumata (also named Bardiya) who passed himself off as Cyrus' younger son after having the real son murdered) from 523-522), and Darius 1 from 522-485. Darius was the son of Hystaspes who murdered the imposter. Darius was the cousin of Cyrus and thus of royal blood. The fourth king is Xerxes (Ahasuerus) who ruled during the near-holocaust described in the book of Esther, from 485-464. He would ultimately play a major role in Greece's anger towards the Persians by spending years trying to militarily subdue Greece with only partial success. The angel's earlier account of spiritual warfare with the demonic "kings of Persia" probably related to the battle over protecting the Jews from Haman's attempt to wipe them out through Xerxes. A Jewish Queen named Esther became the source of their salvation in a surprising plot twist. Daniel 11:3 Then a mighty king will stand up, who will rule with great authority, and do as he pleases. This is of course a reference to Alexander the Great. The angel has skipped a number of other Persian kings, moving forward about 120 years. Daniel 11:4 After he comes, his kingdom will be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority he had, for his kingdom will be plucked up and given to others beside those. Alexander died at the height of his power. His half brother, Philip Arrhidaeus, was mentally defective. Alexander had two sons, too young to take over, who were murdered within 13 years of their father's death. After 22 years of infighting, Alexander's empire was divided up between his four key generals. None of these four parts were even a shadow of the greatness of the original. The two key pieces were that of Seleucus Nicator, who took control of Syria, and Ptolemy I Soter taking Egypt. These two would battle each other for the next 150 years, continuing until Roman rule was established in the area under Pompey. |
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