Daniel 11a - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Daniel 11a Bible Study
TIMELINE:
The Book of Daniel opens in the 3rd year of the reign of King Jehoiakim, 606 BC. Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel in Babylon. Daniel was taken to Babylon about 14 years before Ezekiel was called by God to be a prophet (Ezekiel 1-2).
Daniel 1:21 informs us Daniel was in the palace of Babylon until the first year of King Cyrus (539 BC).
The vision recorded in Daniel 10-12 is dated to the third year of the reign of Cyrus. This likely refers to Cyrus’ third year after conquering Babylon, which would date the vision to 536 BC.
WHAT WE'VE STUDIED SO FAR IN DANIEL:
Daniel 1 – Daniel and his friends are taken to Babylon and educated for 3 years to work in the king’s court. Daniel requests to be exempted from eating the king’s food in order to keep God’s dietary laws.
Daniel 2 – Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about a great image made of 5 different materials. Daniel interprets the dream for him, telling him about an everlasting kingdom that God would set up in the latter days.
Daniel 3 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold and were thrown into the fiery furnace. God miraculously saved them from the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar praised God and honored Him throughout the kingdom.
Daniel 4 – Nebuchadnezzar praised God as the Most High and the Eternal King. He recounted how God humbled him by turning him into an animal-like being that lived outside and ate grass like an ox.
Daniel 5 – The city of Babylon falls to the Medes and Persians after Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s drunken feast.
Daniel 6 – Daniel’s enemies hatch a plot to prevent him from being promoted in the kingdom. Daniel is thrown into a den of lions, but God protects him and keeps the lions from killing him.
Daniel 7 – Daniel had a vision of 4 beasts that represented 4 nations. The Ancient of Days (God) and “one like a son of man” (Jesus) defeated the beasts and established a kingdom that would last forever.
Daniel 8 – Daniel had a vision about a ram and a goat. God revealed that the two animals represented the Medo-Persian Empire (ram) and the Greek Empire (goat).
Daniel 9 – Daniel prayed to God and acknowledged that the Jews broke covenant with Him. He asked God to forgive them. In response to his prayer, God sent Gabriel to Daniel with a prophecy about future events outlined in 70 weeks.
Daniel 10 – A heavenly messenger appears to Daniel to inform him what will happen to his people in latter days. Chapter 10 explains how the vision described in Daniel 11 and 12 was delivered.
OUTLINE:
FROM PERSIA TO ANTIOCHUS THE GREAT (11:1-9):
The heavenly messenger, who appeared to Daniel in chapter 10, continued speaking with him to show him “the truth” of what would happen in the nations in future days.
He was told, that 4 kings would arise from the nation of Persia, and the 4th would be strong (1) and stir up the kingdom of the Greeks.
A mighty king, seemingly from Greece (2), would arise and rule with great dominion. But as soon as he had risen to power, his kingdom would be broken and divided (3).
The heavenly messenger then narrowed his focus to the “king of the south” (4) and the “king of the north” (5). These kings are described in their relation to the land of Judah, and they were the topic of prophecy because their future activities would affect Daniel’s people.
The king of the south would grow strong (6), but one of his servants would grow even stronger (7).
After some years, new kings would take control of the two kingdoms (8). They would attempt to make a marriage alliance, but it would fail (9 and 10).
A relative of the woman given in marriage would come from the south, grow strong, and prevail against the north (11).
In part 2, we’ll look at Antiochus the Great, his battles against the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and Cleopatra of Egypt.
APPLICATIONS:
(1) Xerxes (called Ahasuerus in Esther), 486-465 BC.
(2) Alexander the Great
(3) Alexander died young, in 323 BC, and his kingdom was divided up.
(4) King of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (Egypt), located south of Judah.
(5) King of the Seleucid Dynasty (Syria), located north of Judah.
(6) Ptolemy Soter who ruled Egypt.
(7) Seleucus Nicanor, who once served Ptolemy Soter’s father, but became a king and reigned over a kingdom larger than Ptolemy’s.
(8) Antiochus Theos (north) and Ptolemy Philadelphus (south).
(9) Ptolemy Philadelphus gave his daughter, Berenice, to Antiochus Theos in marriage in hopes of attaining peace.
(10) But Ptolemy died 2 years later, and Antiochus got rid of Berenice to reinstate his ex-wife, Laodice.
(11) When he heard what Antiochus did to Bernice, Ptolemy Euergetes, Bernice’s brother, gathered an army and attacked the north, achieving significant victories and carrying plunder back to Egypt.
