Daniel 10 and 11
Kings of North and South

In the previous chapters, it has become very clear that God gave only one prophecy to Daniel (and Nebuchadnezzar). It is the grand sweep of the Great Controversy between God and Satan, painted on the canvas of world history. In each new revelation, the same prophecy is revisited and expanded, with new details. Each time, we see the glory of Christ's ministry for us and the ultimate victory of righteousness over sin. These chapters are no exception. 

In every revelation the prophecy has begun with political information which has transitioned into spiritual. Nebuchadnezzar's dream told of four worldly empires, followed by the eternal kingdom of God. Daniel's vision of four beasts increased the spiritual emphasis by exploring the satanic spiritual element of the fourth beast prior to the victory of God's kingdom. The vision of the Ram and the Goat further increased the spiritual dimension by using temple imagery even in the political segment, before explicit discussion of Satan's attack on the heavenly sanctuary in the person of the "little horn" power. In this respect, chapter 9 is not a separate prophecy, since its purpose is to  fill in the unexplained parts of chapter 8.

As we enter the revelation in chapters 10 through 12, the spiritual emphasis begins before Daniel is given any information. He is presented with a heavenly being in priestly garb (Dan 10:5). But even though the spiritual element is made explicit by this messenger's appearance, chapter 11 begins with a very direct presentation of political events. After a while, the presentation changes. Political language is exchanged for spiritual language. Eventually references to physical geography are used in metaphorical style to refer to spiritual geography.

In the beginning of this audition descriptions are so detailed as to make one think that he is listening to Howard Cosell announce a boxing match. The punches fly fast and furious. The details are so intimidating that many students move right past chapter 11 to chapter 12, considering chapter 11 to be unimportant. But prophecy is presented to allow us to see that God is in control. It also allows us to see the progress of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, played out on this earth. So we should not ignore any of it. We will, however, not spend quite as much time early on details as we have before, since some minor details have less impact on understanding.

1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. Dan 10:1

Unlike the prior revelations which were to be kept secret, or which Daniel did not understand, this one was comprehensible. Unfortunately, it told of "great conflict". The rest of chapter 10 is by-play between Daniel and the heavenly messengers. Of note is that Daniel is referred to as being of "high esteem" in verses 11 and 19, and is commanded to "understand".

11 And he said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you."...

19 And he said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
20 Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.
21 "However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.

The messenger is going to give Daniel a rather intricate picture of his people's future.

14 "Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future."

As he begins chapter 11, the messenger points out that he has been working to guide the path of history, and is (see 10:21) still on the job.

1 "And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

Finally, the main event:

2 "And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.

It's hard to be either more clear or more accurate. The next four more kings in Persia were:

(Artaxerxes I is the king who issued the decree to restore and to build up Jerusalem in 457BC)

Artaxerxes I was clearly the richest of all the Persian kings. He assembled perhaps the largest army ever, and marched against Greece. (Herodotus says that the army had 5,283,220 men and was drawn from 40 nations!) This army was not well trained, and was defeated by a much smaller, but much better trained Greek army.

3 "And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
4 "But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded; for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.

A better description of Alexander the Great and the breakup of his empire is hard to imagine. His generals divided the empire among themselves after killing Alexander's five year-old son. At this point, we need to step aside for a moment.

Alexander the Great did not conquer Persia while Artaxerxes I was king. The narrative skips over 6 later Persian kings and 120 years. If every event were to be included, the audition would be encyclopedic, but nothing important would be added to the prophecy. This is typical of prophecy. It includes the high points, and leaves out those items which do not add to the picture being presented. In this fashion, there are numerous gaps. These gaps in prophecy should not be used to allow massive "parentheses" where none are written, such as between the end of the Bronze Kingdom and the Iron Kingdom in the statue of chapter 2. A "parenthesis" has been used there by futurist interpreters to separate the fourth beast from the others in chapter 7, and to separate the 70th week from the other 69 in chapter 9. Our purpose is understand the Word of God, not the word of man. Gaps should be allowed when the narrative allows, and not inserted to satisfy a given interpreter. It should again be noted that in the examples listed, the Papacy escapes notice as God's great opponent on earth if a gap is allowed. When only the Word of God is used, the Papacy is properly identified as Satan's surrogate in the Great Controversy.

5 "Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.

This is the beginning of a "North/South" reference we will see throughout chapter 11. This image is initially defined relative to Palestine, so it seems reasonable to identify Syria as the Northern kingdom and Egypt the southern. We should be careful, because a glance at the map will show that the Syrian empire extended east to India. But since the foreign conquerors of Palestine could not enter Palestine from the desert to the east, they used the fertile crescent route. This took them up the Euphrates valley to Lebanon, where they were able then to turn south to Palestine. Thus, they were seen as coming from the north (see Jer 4:6-7, etc.).

It can be seen from the map that the King of the North is the kingdom that controls Babylon (which is actually east of Jerusalem). As the imagery of the prophecy moves from physical to spiritual, the Babylon in view changes from physical to spiritual as well. Since Babylon in end-times is representative of apostate Christianity, the leader of that apostasy will become the King of the North. 

The Ptolemies and Seleucids were the two dominant branches of Alexander the Great's empire. Ptolemy I Soter (323-285BC) was the first of the Egyptian kings. He annexed Cyprus, Phoenicia and other lands, "grow(ing) strong." Seleucus I Nicator (312-281BC) (his prince) began his career as the Satrap of Babylon, subordinate to Ptolemy. Seleucus fled from Ptolemy's protection and became the first of the Seleucid kings. He conquered a large amount of territory, from Turkey to India, "a great dominion".

6 "And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in, and the one who sired her, as well as he who supported her in those times.

The audition skips ahead "some years". The alliance is not between Ptolemy I Soter and Seleucus I Nicator. Once again, perspective is of the Kingdom of the North, and the Kingdom of the South. The time is now about 250BC, and the kings are Antiochus II Theos (North) and Ptolemy II Philadelphus (South). Antiochus was married to Laodice. In order to consummate the peace treaty, Ptolemy sent his daughter Berenice to Antiochus with a large dowry. Antiochus had to divorce Laodice and marry Berenice. It wasn't very long before he brought Laodice back. Laodice did what any self-respecting jilted woman would do; she poisoned Antiochus! She saw to it that Berenice and her son by Antiochus were murdered as well, along with her Egyptian attendants.

We have a minor problem here. The "one who sired her" would seem to imply that Berenice's father Ptolemy II would be a victim of this retribution. In fact, he died of natural causes before Laodice carried out her revenge. The source of this problem is probably not a translation error, but a transcription error. The Masoretic text uses yoledah which properly translates the "one who sired her". Earlier Hebrew texts use yaldah which translates "maid", implying Berenice's entourage was the victim. Either word fits, but yaldah fits better. The only difference is a "vowel pointing" added fifteen centuries after Daniel. In Daniel’s time, the text was written without vowels. It appears that somewhere in the mists of antiquity the proper pronunciation was lost and a scribe recorded the incorrect vowel. It should be noted that this type of error is not unusual. While the authors of the Bible were inspired, the scribes were not. The manuscripts upon which our modern Bible are based are not in 100% agreement with each other, and careful scholarship has been used to arrive at our modern Bible. The most common error noted in the ancient manuscripts is one of transcription, and because of the odd (to us) way of denoting vowels in Hebrew, it borders on miraculous that we don't see more of these discrepancies.

7 "But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength.
8"And also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.

Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221BC) went to war against Syria to avenge his sister's death. He captured Seleucia, the capitol of the Seleucid Empire and most of the countryside and killed Laodice. He markedly expanded the borders of the Egyptian Empire and established Egyptian sea power.

Verse 8 clearly confirms the identity of the King of the South (which we had already figured out). Ptolemy took 40,000 talents of silver, 4,000 talents of gold, precious vessels, and 2,500 images of the gods back to Egypt. Many of these had been taken from Egypt by Cambysses. Ptolemy's throne name "Euergetes" or "Benefactor" came from his acts in returning this wealth to Egypt. Domestic sedition led Ptolemy to return to Egypt, and he did not pursue any more military action against Syria.

9 "Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.
10 "And his sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.

Seleucus II Callinichus (246-225BC) attacked Egypt and recovered Mesopotamia and most of Syria. Eventually he was defeated, signed a peace treaty and returned to Syria where he died after a fall from a horse. His son Seleucus III Ceranus Soter (225-223BC) rebuilt the army, but was murdered before he could begin a campaign. Seleucus III's brother Antiochus III Magnus (223-187BC) continued the military buildup. In 219BC he began a campaign which conquered Southern Syria and Palestine. He eventually attacked Egypt proper. (It is interesting to see Daniel use "overflow" again in reference to a "flood of arms".)

11 "And the king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former.
12 "When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.
13 "For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.

Ptolemy IV Philopater (221-205BC) was a pacifist, and preferred not to fight. Antiochus forced his hand, so he raised a large army. Antiochus brought a large army to the fight at Raphia (217BC), but lost badly. Fourteen thousand Syrian soldiers were killed. About this time, Ptolemy killed thousands of Jews living in Alexandria. Ptolemy failed to follow up his military victory. Sixteen years later, Antiochus started a second campaign against Egypt, with an army of great size which even included elephants from India. This brings us to the first problem area.

14 "Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.

It's easy to find the those who will "rise up". Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205-180BC) was a child when Antiochus Magnus attacked. His Prime Minister, Agathocles, rebelled, starting a civil war. Philip of Macedon joined forces with Antiochus. But who are "the violent ones among your people"? This sounds like rebellious Jews. Unfortunately, we have the translators to credit for confusing us again.

The Hebrew should literally be translated "the breakers of your people". A colloquial translation that the Jews would have understood would be "the oppressors of your people". This same root is used in 12:7 in the word "shattering":

7 And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

It is also seen in 2:40, 7:7, 19, and 23. A synonym is "trample" seen in 8:10 and 13. From this it we can see that rather than Jews, the "breakers" are the Romans. Gabriel is telling Daniel that the great oppressor of God's people is entering the stage. History records that Rome began its prominence at about this time. Rome began to "lift (itself) up". This happens to fulfill the visions Daniel has already seen. Gabriel also reassures Daniel that in the end "they will fall down". This presents a graphic picture of all who would stand on their own merits. If we trust in ourselves, we will all "fall down". We should not confuse the ultimate fall of Rome with a prediction of an immediate fall. That is not the intent of this language. In 12:1 Daniel explicitly identifies a specific moment. Here in 11:14, he is only speaking of an eventual outcome.

15 "Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege mound, and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.

The Egyptians chose Scopas, an Aetolian, to command their army. Unfortunately, Antiochus III Magnus was a better general. Gaza fell in 201BC. Scopas was defeated at Sidon. He and 10,000 of his soldiers were allowed to leave, but only after they were stripped naked.

The message again refers to a player other than the Kings of North and South.

16 "But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

Up until now, the King of the South has been the opponent of the King of the North. Now we see "he who comes against him", referring to a new opponent of the King of the North. Should we be surprised if this turns out to be Rome? Let's see.

About this time, Rome began to flex its muscles in the Middle East. Antiochus III Magnus was defeated in 189BC by the Roman army at the battle of Magnesia. A year later, he was forced to accept the Peace of Apamea, which made Syria a vassal of Rome. He was nominally independent, but paid huge amounts of tribute and was required to defer to Roman wishes whenever they were presented. Palestine was removed as a Syrian territory with the formation of the Jewish League in 161BC. Roman general Pompey cemented this position with his defeat of Antiochus XIII Asiaticus in 65BC, ending the Seleucid Empire.  As we have seen before, Rome became totally dominant over the civilized world including the ancient territory of Babylon. So at this point, Rome becomes the King of the North.  Rome's sojourn in Palestine included the massacre of 12,000 Jews in 63BC, including priests involved in the Temple services. The Roman occupation eventually led to the total destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD70, followed by the worldwide dispersion of the Jewish people.

We must step aside for a moment here. The futurists are at it again. Their pet despot, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the son of Antiochus III Magnus), gets thrown in here instead of Rome. (Does this sound familiar?) The passage that follows through verse 33 gets attributed to Antiochus IV, because his reign bears a passing resemblance to the depredations of "he who comes against him". Unfortunately for the futurists, Antiochus fails to fit on many points. First, the syntax of verse 16 requires that this player be an opponent of the King of the North, and Antiochus would already be the King of the North. He can't be both the King and his opposition! Second, while Antiochus was definitely a bad guy, the narrative just doesn’t fit. Third, we are looking at the sweep of history. The messenger is painting with a broad brush. Spending half the chapter on a nine year span doesn't fit with an audition which skipped over 120 years at one point, and several kings at another.

At the risk of sounding accusatory, we have to examine again the impact of introducing Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In the prior two visions, the mistaken identification of the little horns as Antiochus diverts attention from the true villain: Rome and the Papacy. The same effect is seen here. This error leads futurists to look for a gap, or "parenthesis" in chapters 2, 7, 8, and 9, leading to a further repetition of this error. With this consistent exemption for Rome, we have to ask a question. Is this a simple error of honest men, or is it the active intervention of the Father of Lies himself?

17 "And he will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.

Thomas Newton translates this, "He shall also set his face to enter by force the whole kingdom". Egypt was the only portion of Alexander's empire not under total Roman control. Ptolemy XII Auletes (80-51BC) died while his heirs were still young. He left the kingdom to his ten year old son Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopater and his daughter Cleopatra. He provided in his will that they should marry each other and share the crown. Since they were minors, he left them in the guardianship of the Romans under Pompey. Pompey and Julius Caesar had a dispute which led to war, and Pompey was defeated at Pharsalus. Caesar chased him to Egypt, but the war ended when Pompey was murdered.

Julius Caesar became the guardian of the young royals. Cleopatra was pushed aside by her brother, and she went to war against him. Caesar imposed a peace decree where Ptolemy and Cleopatra were to disband their armies. Cleopatra tried to subvert the decree by becoming Caesar's mistress, and had a son by him. This strategy worked briefly, but then she sided with Mark Antony against Caesar.

18 "Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.
19 "So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.

Julius Caesar soon sailed to Asia Minor against Pharnaces, King of the Cimmerian Bosporus. His victory was rapid and absolute. This victory resulted in his famous statement, "veni, vidi, vici"; "I came, I saw, I conquered". When Julius returned to Rome he was made dictator for life. In 44BC, his lieutenants, at least partly in fear of what he might do to them with absolute power, murdered him.

20 "Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though neither in anger nor in battle.

20 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. (KJV)

This time the King James makes the interpretation a bit clearer. Augustus became Caesar, and set about raising taxes. The people of that day liked tax collectors almost as well as we like the IRS, so referring to them as oppressors is appropriate. The tax collectors went to Palestine, as we see in Luke 2:1.

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (KJV)

The "glory of the kingdom" refers to the period of Rome's greatest glory, the "pax Romana". Augustus died in his bed, "neither in anger, nor in battle".

21 "And in his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
22 "And the overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.

Tiberius was the next Caesar. He was not in the normal line of succession. When Augustus' wife Livia suggested Tiberius as his successor, Augustus said, "Your son is too vile to wear the purple of Rome." (Tiberius was Livia's son by a former husband.) Augustus nominated Agrippa. Agrippa died before Augustus, and after much arm twisting by Livia, he nominated Tiberius. The citizens shared Augustus' opinion of Tiberius, and never gave him the honor and respect a ruler might expect. Tiberius' armies "overflowed" opposing armies (that "flood of arms" again), including a "shatter(ing)" campaign against the Jews in Palestine. Also, Jesus, "the prince of the covenant", was crucified on Tiberius' watch.

Up till now, it has been possible for other interpreters to put together alternate sequences of events which seem to fit the prophecy. Other players are identified with "the violent ones among your people" and so on. But those interpretations fail when the "prince of the covenant" appears. Daniel has already identified him as the Messiah in 9:25-27, where he is called "Messiah the Prince." Any interpretation which fails to make this identification in 11:22 must be rejected. At the risk of being repetitious, we have to inquire regarding the motives of anyone suggesting that the "prince of the covenant" could be anyone other than Jesus. While some parts of prophecy may not be instantly clear, this shouts out with total clarity. Prophecy exists to reveal Christ. Here He is! And the Cross is identified as the time when Christ was "shattered." And this begins the shift of genre that we have seen in every prophecy in Daniel.

Up till now, all of the action has been geopolitical. The only hint of any other focus has been in verse 14, in the reference to "the breakers of your people." With the term "Prince of the Covenant," specific spiritual language appears. And as the prophecy progresses, the language becomes more spiritual and less geographic.

23 "And after an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.
24 "In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.

The shift from pagan Rome to papal Rome that we saw in chapters 7 and 8 appears again.  As we learned from the study of these visions, Rome became the center of apostate Christianity. This is called  "Babylon" in the book of Revelation. Thus, the political King of the North that had controlled physical Babylon (pagan Rome) is now transformed into the spiritual King of the North that controls spiritual Babylon (papal Rome). The "alliance" is the union of church and state, when the temporal authorities began to be subservient to the church of Rome. It began in 496 when King Clovis of France converted. In 508, he formed an alliance with the Pope, becoming the first temporal ruler to officially grant allegiance to the Papacy. In 533, in order to gain favor with the Pope, Emperor Justinian issued a decree declaring the Pope to be the supreme authority over all the churches. This became effective in 538 with the eviction of the Ostrogoths from Rome.

Once the church-state alliance became effective, the Papacy worked mightily against the people of God, with a "small force of people", the officers of the church. They conveyed the wishes of the church to the civil authorities, who carried them out. During the early part of Papal domination, the church solidified its authority in a manner never before seen. The church was able to extract great wealth from the people to decorate its churches, live lavishly, and to reward its friends. It continued its actions against God's people, the "strongholds" of the faith, "but only for a time", until the appointed termination of its power in 1798.

Side trips are getting common in this story, and here we go again. Why isn't the "time" in this verse a year like "time" in 7:25? The answer is in the Hebrew. The word translated "time" here is 'ad-'eth (6256), which means "until a time", or in essence, until completion. The word in 7:25 is 'iddanin, meaning duration. So we should not think of the word as referring to a definite time period here.

25 "And he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.
26 "And those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.

This nicely describes the Crusades, which were undertaken at the instigation of the Papacy. In particular, there were at least two major campaigns against Egypt. The Crusades were afflicted with bad counsel and leadership. Little was accomplished, and casualties were high. Further, the Papacy of the dark ages was afflicted by infighting and intrigue. Several  popes were murdered, and for a period  there were three. Each claimed the Chair of Peter and anathematized the others. A complete description of this internecine warfare would require a large book, but is neatly summarized in "those who eat his choice food will destroy him."

27 "As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time.

The warring parties negotiated in bad faith, each seeking an advantage. Once again Gabriel pauses to reassure Daniel that "the end is still to come at the appointed time". It doesn't matter what people do. God is still in control, and events will occur as He directs.

28 "Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

The Crusaders returned with a large amount of plunder. Then the Papacy directed most of its attention against God's people, intensifying the Inquisition. The language of this verse, along with the "Prince of the Covenant" in verse 22 emphasizes the shift of genre. From here on, the primary focus is spiritual.

29 "At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before.
30 "For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened, and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.

The Last Crusade in 1260 was unsuccessful. It degenerated into a series of naval battles, hence the reference to the "ships of Kittim". This is an expression of obscure origin. The Dead Sea scrolls refer to Rome as Kittim. Other writings suggest that it is the western coastlands. Still others suggest that it is used generically to refer to almost any naval power. Recent archeological discoveries reveal that "kittim" is an Akkadian (Babylonian) word for "soldiers". "Ships of Kittim" would be properly understood as "ships of soldiers", an expression which would distinguish naval vessels from commercial vessels.

Following the naval losses, Rome and the Papacy directed attention inward toward "heretics" who regarded God above the Pope. The Popes granted "indulgences" and favors of all types to their friends, while persecuting Christians. Just as with the identification of Jesus earlier, here is an unmistakable picture of the Papacy. Those who would prefer Antiochus IV Epiphanes to be the player at this point are required to ignore both the plain text and the fact that Jesus died almost 200 years after Antiochus. This episode is long after Jesus' appearance in the text.

31 "And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.

Daniel continues his metaphor of "strongholds" (v24) here with "the sanctuary fortress". The sanctuary being desecrated is in heaven. The idolatrous false intercession of saints, Mary, and priests, coupled with a prohibition of Bible reading prevented the populace from knowing to come directly to Christ in prayer. This is an abomination that prevents proper worship, desolating the temple. Or in Daniel's words, it is "the abomination of desolation."

32 "And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.
33 "And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, for many days.

The Papacy assured those who pursued the Inquisition that they were gaining favor in Heaven. The people of the covenant are the true Christians who spread the word and died cruelly during the 1,260 years of Papal oppression. Once again, we see language which shows that the "saints" in view here are believers, not Jews. "(T)he people who know their God" excludes any possibility of sainthood by heredity.

34 "Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy.
35 "And some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure, until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

Here God reassures Daniel that even in the darkest days, He is still in control.

36 "Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.

This is an echo of the little horn of chapter 7. Since we are seeing the same prophecy repeated and amplified, this can be no one other than the Papacy. We detailed the monstrous blasphemy of the Roman Catholic Church earlier and will not repeat it here. Again and again God focuses our eyes on the work of the enemy so that we will be able to "stand against the schemes of the devil" (Eph 6:11). As we exercise care in our interpretation, we are repeatedly rewarded with new views of the moral purpose of prophecy: the gospel.

37 "And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.

Again, an echo of chapter 7, but this time with a reference to the celibacy of the Catholic priesthood. The literal translation says that "he will show no regard for any god." In other words, the King of the North is claiming complete ascendancy and authority. In chapter 7 this was "speaking great boasts," and in chapter 8 "he will oppose the Prince of princes."

38 "But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones, and treasures.

The word ma'owz (4581), translated "fortresses" is curious. Daniel used it in verse 31 to describe the sanctuary. In Judges 6:26, it is used to refer to the altar of Baal which Gideon tore down. Throughout the OT it is used in the general form of "strength" with regard to God.

7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:7

Given this context, we can see that Daniel is not so much referring to physical structures, but rather to the "strength" of other gods. This is idolatry. Since it has reference to the pagan altars with idols, it can also be applied to the Catholic veneration of statues of saints and Mary.  Paul gives us confirmation.

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 2 Cor 10:3-4

Idolatry shows up again in the next verse.

39 "And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

Rome's attack on the heavenly sanctuary (7:8, 25; 8:11, 25) is indicated again with, "And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god". This is the only direct reference in Daniel's prophecies to any other god. This can only be Satan. We were left to deduce that Satan was the force behind the throne in 8:24: "not by his own power". A better recap of the Papacy from chapters 7 and 8 would be hard to find. The people of God were granted "a little help", but not much more during those trying times. However, this "refined" them, as we see in Revelation 3:18

18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich,...

At this time, things get a little dicey for the interpreter. As you will recall, in chapter 7, events after the 1,260 days (which ended in 1798), were essentially passed over until the final judgment. The same thing happens in chapter 8 after the 2,300 days (which ended in 1844). In chapter 8, we did get a hint of what would happen in the last days with the reference to the cleansing and restoration of the sanctuary. We enter the last days with the remainder of chapter 11.

40 "And at the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through.

The physical battle language here must not divert us from the fact that the focus has shifted to spiritual warfare. The specifics follow.

41 "He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.

Since scripture must be allowed to interpret scripture, we must find the geographic references there. The "Beautiful Land" we have seen before as a reference to Palestine, the home of God's people. But when the Jews rejected Jesus, Stephen brought God's covenant lawsuit. The Jews lost their birthright blessing, and true Israel left Palestine for the world at large. God's true people, true Christians, are Israel today. 

The King of the North we have identified as the Roman Catholic Church. But we may broaden that identification a bit to include all apostate Christianity, with the RCC at its head. Here Daniel tells of the attempt by the RCC to subvert true Christianity via the ecumenical movement. Ecumenism tries to bring Protestantism and Catholicism together, pleading that the two are no longer irreconcilable. This is seen in Vatican II, the World Council of Churches, and lately in the attempt by the RCC and Lutheran church to assemble a statement of shared doctrinal foundation. This process will continue, and many true Christians will be seduced by it. We should note that the word "countries" in verse 41 has been added by the translators, because they thought it fit the sentence. But this is based on a geopolitical understanding of the passage, and ignores the genre shift we have already discovered. What Daniel recorded was that "many [saints] will fall," not "many [countries] will fall." And this is supported by the statement itself. If we assume that the Beautiful Land is the land of Israel, as in a geopolitical view, then it is a single country. How can "many countries fall" from inside a single country?

The second half of the verse brings in a new set of players: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. These groups are descendants of Jacob's twin brother Esau, who was also known as Edom. They were sworn enemies of the descendants of Israel (Jacob). In scripture they are repeatedly mentioned together. A mention of only one of them is somewhat unusual. Thus they become a technical term or formula describing the enemies of Israel. Since Israel today is Christianity, we should look for sworn enemies of Christianity. To look for the literal groups listed would be futile, since that group ceased to exist over 2,000 years ago.

Current events allow us to see the sworn enemies of Christianity clearly. Since September 11, 2001, militant Islam has been at the head of almost every newscast. And an examination of their holy book, the Q'uran, shows this clearly. Regarding Christians it says:

"When the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war). But if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity [become Moslem], then open the way for them." Sura 9:5

"Fight those who believe not in God nor the last day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, (even if they are) of the people of the Book [Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya [tribute] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.  The Jews call Uzair [Ezra] a son of God, and the Christians call Christ the Son of God ... God's curse be on them." Sura 9:29-31

"The punishment of those who wage war against God and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the hereafter, except for those who repent before they fall into your power. In that case, know that God is oft-forgiving, most merciful. O ye who believe! Do your duty to God. Seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive with might and main in His cause, that ye may prosper." Sura 5:36-38

Many more passages could be quoted, but the essence of the Q'uran is that anyone who will not become a Moslem is to be killed. Further, any land that has ever been held by a Moslem is Moslem land forever, and its ownership by non-Moslems will not be recognized. Any form of warfare or deceit in the cause of recovering the land or extending the sway of Islam is acceptable. A peace treaty is to be treated as a means to become stronger in preparation for the resumption of the Jihad, or holy war.

Daniel stated that Edom, Moab and Ammon would escape the grasp of apostate Christianity. Given the nature of Islam, it is no surprise that these sworn enemies of God's people will refuse to cooperate with Rome.

42 "Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.
43 "But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels.

Having identified Islam in Daniel's writing on biblical grounds, we should also be able to identify Egypt. And the key is again in scripture. When Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh to ask for freedom for Israel, Pharaoh states, "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice...?...I do not know the Lord." (Ex 5:2). He declared the words of the Lord to be false (Ex 5:9). As God caused plagues to fall on Egypt, Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate God's works, creating the appearance of the power of man equal to that of God. (Ex 7:11, 22; 8:7). When plagues came that the magicians could not duplicate, Pharaoh wavered, and seemed to accept that the God of Israel was more powerful than his gods were. But each time he refused to allow the Israelites to go. He denied God's sovereignty right up to the moment the Red Sea rolled over him. 

The Egyptians invented a whole pantheon of pagan gods. They began with sun worship, and included nearly every living creature in their list. Most of us will recognize the cat and the dung beetle (scarab) gods in Egyptian jewelry and art. Thus, Egypt represents atheism and paganism. But what about the Libyans and Ethiopians? Once again, these parties are frequently mentioned, usually as the allies of Egypt in various military endeavors. The three names combined are a formula similar to "Edom, Moab and Ammon." So we may regard them as a single body: atheism.

Egypt was a trading country as well. Scripture notes trade in spices, horses, cotton, and precious metals. In chapter 18 of Revelation, various merchants are listed as collaborators with the harlot, who is Babylon. And this should not be surprising. An atheist or pagan will generally act in a manner to enhance personal gain. Business activities are the prototype for this. He does not admit the existence of God. So, if the forms of religious observance are required in order to continue to do business, he will follow them. It's no skin off his nose! And what Daniel is saying is that the atheists of the world will cooperate with apostate Christianity, most likely in order to deal with some perceived crisis. They will consent to religious forms to get along for personal gain.

Jeremiah records God’s ultimate punishment for this disobedience.

25 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised-- 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart. "  Jer 9:25-26

All of those who oppose God will be punished. The apostate house of Israel, “Edom, Moab, and Ammon,” and Egypt will all be destroyed. The King of the North, the Roman Catholic Church, Islam, and all the Atheists and Pagans will meet the reward of their rebellion against their maker.

44 "But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.
45 "And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The geographic metaphors continue to pile up. This is the only passage in scripture that uses a compound direction. And north-east of Egypt is Jerusalem. This represents the saints, since Paul has clearly stated that Mount Zion is found by locating the people of God (Heb 12:22-24). True saints will refuse to cooperate with the religious prescriptions of the apostate church, and a death decree will be issued against them (Rev 13:15). This is described by the location of the "tents" of the King of the North. His purpose is destruction, but he will not succeed. No such success is mentioned, either here or in Revelation. Only the intent is recorded. The saints will be rescued (Dan 12:1).

Some of these events have not happened. They are to happen "at the end time". But since this is the story of the Great Controversy, not the Great Contest, the outcome is never in doubt. Satan and his surrogates will "come to (their) end". God's saints will be redeemed.

Instant Replay:

Because the exposition of the end of this chapter of Daniel has been involved with so much back-and-forth searching for the biblical sources of the metaphors, the presentation has been choppy, and potentially unclear. So let us re-present the information in a short, clear form.

Daniel 11, like every other prophecy in the book, begins geo-political, but ends spiritual. This should not be surprising, since all the prophecies cover essentially the same ground. The change to a spiritual emphasis is hinted at in verse 14, announced in verse 22, and accelerates thereafter. The King of the North begins the chapter as the power that controls physical Babylon and ends as the power seated in spiritual Babylon. Since Babylon symbolizes apostasy, this is the Roman Catholic Church. (We must emphasize that being a Catholic in name does not condemn a person. The King of the North is the institution. There are many good Christians within this apostate body.) The King of the South, or Egypt, represents atheism. Edom, Moab, and Ammon are Islam, and Jerusalem represents the true people of God.

Apostate Christianity will try to subvert true Christians, and "many will fall."  But efforts to bring Islam into the fold will largely fail. Catholic attention will also focus on the control of atheism. Since these materialists see their profits as dependent on the good will of the world, they will cooperate with forms of religion as far as needed in order to secure business advantage. Anyone who fails to cooperate will be restricted from commercial activity. But true Christians will refuse to cooperate with the agent of Satan, leading to a vigorous attempt to squash this perceived rebellion. But, as we will see as we move into Daniel 12, Satan's surrogate will fail. God will instead execute judgment on the wicked, rescuing his saints.

We must for a moment consider just what forms of observance might be required by an apostate power. A requirement for outward conversion to Catholicism would alienate the bulk of nominal but apostate Christians. Atheists would rebel at being forced to take on the mantle of religion. Pagans would similarly object to the appearance of Christianity, however perverted. But an outward act that can be taken as either religious or secular, such as Sunday "observance" would work. Since the vast bulk of pagans regard the sun as the highest deity, Sunday observance will fit nicely with their beliefs. The vast majority of nominal Christians already accept Sunday as the proper day of worship. And business people have historically gone along with Sunday legislation as a normal cost of doing business. 

No other possible legal requirement fits the prophecy so well. And when Revelation is studied, the key issue is true worship of the God of the Sabbath. When the first angel of Revelation 14 announces the coming judgment, he says, "Worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters," quoting Exodus 20:11. This portion of the Sabbath commandment is where God's authority to command worship is found. He is the creator, and his creation must give him honor and praise. The very center of the Apocalypse, chapters 12-14, deals with true and false worship. Since the language used points so clearly to the Sabbath as the sign of true worship of the true God, we must conclude that universal Sunday observance will be the observable sign of compliance with apostasy, while true Sabbath observance will bring down legal wrath. And this fits with the central claim of the Papacy, that it has the right to change divine laws, and gives Sunday observance as the sign of this authority.

These events are proceeding today. The various elements of apostasy can be seen everywhere, with true Christians falling away from "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Sunday is widely regarded as the proper day of worship, with sabbatarians ridiculed. Our current (in the US) atmosphere of religious tolerance does not allow the legal imposition of Sunday observance. But the present world-wide crisis of Islamic terrorism is the type of process that may lead to an abrogation of legal protections that have been held sacred for centuries. The actions already taken in response to the terrorism have encroached on precious freedoms. It appears likely that this development will continue up to some point where an emergency will be perceived. By acclamation Sunday observance will become a sign of solidarity against this external threat, and religious freedoms will be annulled. At this point, all people will have to commit themselves either for or against God. The Sabbath will be the testing truth. And at that point, God can proceed with the judgment described in Daniel 12.