Daniel 10 - 12
We are about to finish the book of Daniel when we cover the last 3 chapters, chapters 10 through 10. Daniel 10 - 12 are very interesting and are constantly a hot debate. Most people believe these chapters have yet to be fulfilled.
As usual, my opinion differs than what is commonly accepted, and my petition to you is that Daniel chapters 10 through 12 have already (or mostly) been fulfilled.
This is a very important question. If these chapters have already been fulfilled then we only need to validate that things played out exactly the way God said they would. If however, these chapters speak of a future event, then we need to be watching the news to see if these chapters are being fulfilled right before our eyes. We will be discussing this more, but for now let's begin reading Daniel 10.
Daniel 10
Daniel's Vision of a Mighty Man
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
The Angel's Prophecy of Persia, Greece
10And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
15And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. 16And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
18Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Breakdown
The first thing we notice is that Verse 1 says this vision occured in the third year of Cyrus the king of Persia, so it was approximately 2 years after the vision of Daniel 9.
The second thing we notice is that Daniel was mourning and setting his heart on trying to understand. Understand what? Daniel was trying to understand the visions that he previously either interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar or was given directly from God. So, Daniel understood parts of the visions that he was given, but not all of it, so Daniel set his heart on truly understanding what God had partially revealed to him. Daniel also knew the temple that would be rebuilt would eventually be trodden underfoot again and Daniel wanted further understanding. Verse 12 says:
12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
God had been progressively revealing to Daniel the events that would occur leading up to the Messiah's arrival.
First Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an image with a head of gold. The head of gold we were told represented Babylon. The silver body of that image represented the kingdoms of Media and Persia, the waist of bronze represented Greece, and the legs of iron represented Rome. So we already learned that the order of kingdoms that would rule would be Babylon, followed by Persia, then Greece, and finally Rome.
We then read about the visions of the four beasts mentioned in Daniel 7. The four beasts also represented the same four kingdoms, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
The Lion represented Babylon.
The Bear represented Media and Persia.
The four headed Leopard represented Greece.
The dreadful beast represented Rome.
Chapter 8 then moved us forward on the timeline leaving Bablyon behind and focusing soley on Persia and Greece. We saw that Greece would overthrow Persia and then Greece would be split into 4 parts ruled by 4 separate kings. Those 4 kings would not be of the seed Alexander the Great. Because Daniel 8:21 tells us "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his (Alexander's) power."
So Daniel chapter 10 - 12 are the conclusion of Daniel's prophecy. Chapter 11 will again advance us forward on the timeline, only briefly mentioning Persia, and then quickly moves forward to the kingdom of Greece and the transgression of the temple.
Misconceptions
We will be speaking about two misconceptions several times as we go through these chapters:
First) The error of people saying that the angel that was sent to Daniel was fighting against the kingdom of Persia.
Second) That this is a future prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled.
First, many people believe that when Daniel 10:20 says "and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia", they believe the angel sent to Daniel was fighting against a demon. Their logic is that if an angel was fighting something for 21 days then it had to be a demon, because what human could withstand an angel for 21 days when an angel could easily wipe out thousands of humans at once. At first glance that appears to make sense, but is that what Daniel said? Can a fallen angel actually hold back God's angels for 21 days? Let's look at verses 13 and 20 again:
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Again, at first glance it appears they might be right. I mean verse 20 does say that this angel was returning to fight with the prince of Persia. But when the angel states he is going to return to fight with the prince of Persia he was stating that he was going to fight alongside of the prince of Persia, not against.
In other words, it would be like saying, in world war 2, The United States fought with Great Britain against The Axis. Now the United States did not fight against Great Britain, they fought with Great Britain.
But how do we know that when the angel said that he was going back to fight with the king of Persia, he meant alongside the prince of Persia and not against? Well.....let's take a look at the evidence.
What nation was in power at the time of Daniel's vision? It was Persia. We know God had already determined which nations would reign after Persia. First it would be Greece and then Rome.
God knew that Greece would overthrow Persia by the lead of Alexander the great, Alexander would die, and then Greece would be split in fourths. But Greece did not conquer Persia until almost 200 years after Daniel's vision.
A plausible reason why it took so long for Greece to conquer Persia is because God had a plan for Persia. First, to liberate Israel from Babylon, and second to allow Israel to rebuild the temple.
So God wasn't fighting against Persia, God was using His angels to fight for Persia for a time, until His will was accomplished, after which, he would remove his 'guardian angel' from protecting Persia and allow Greece to come into power.
Notice what the angel says at the end of Verse 20 "and when I am gone forth, lo, the price of Grecia shall come.
So when the angel has gone forth and LEFT protecting Israel, the realm of Greece would come. Greece could not come into power until God removed what was restraining them, and that was his angel. A demon was not restraining God's angel for 21 days, although I'm sure Satan would love for you to think that.
Even Verse 2 of Chapter 11 says:
2And 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.
So, are you telling me an angel of God was fighting against Persia but at least four more kings would rule before Greece would come to power? Didn't God choose Persia to be in power? Would it make sense for God to put Persia in power and then suddenly try to overthrow Persia 3 years later, while the demons successfully thwarted God's plan for 200 years?
NO! This angel was fighting WITH Persia, so they could fulfill God's purpose, first by liberating Israel from Babylon, and second by allowing them to rebuild the temple. This common school of thought is only used to give the false notion that demons have more power than they do.
We see this same scenario repeat itself over and over with Israel. While Israel obeyed and remained in covenant with God, they were 'invincible'. However when they rebelled against God, Yahuah's protection and angels were removed from protecting Israel to allow other kingdoms come in and punish them.
A Future Prophecy?
As I mentioned earlier, Daniel 11 is constantly used by people to try and show you how the end will unfold. If we just discussed the events of Daniel 11, then you would probably easily believe that Daniel 11 has already been fulfilled. There is just one issue located in Daniel 12:1-4 that causes a problem, and those verses are why so many people think it's a future event. Daniel 12:1-4 says:
1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Just like the issue of the angel fighting with the kings of Persia, it is easy to mistake that Daniel 11 takes place if we are not careful. A quick youtube search for 'Daniel 11 prophecy' pulls up some of these videos.
1. End time prophecy - time is short!
2. Daniel 11 - the antichrist
3. Daniel 11 ends in America
4. Daniel 11 outlines the blood of the antichrist
5. Daniel 11 prophecy being fulfilled
So many people definitely believe Daniel 11 is a future prophecy. Just keep those thoughts in mind. We will be addressing chapter 12 soon, but for now let's continue with the first part of chapter 11.
Daniel 11
The Overthrow of Persia
1Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2And 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. 3And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 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 beside those.
The Beginning of Daniel 11 explained
To truly appreciate the final prophecy given to Daniel, we must understand history; Therefore, we will be going back and forth comparing history and the events mentioned in Daniel 11. Daniel 11 starts:
1Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2And now will I shew thee the truth.
Notice how the angel tells Daniel it was him who stood to confirm and strengthen Darius.
The angel then goes on to tell Daniel that 4 kings are yet to reign in Persia, and the fourth Persian king will stir up the surrounding kingdoms against Greece. Verse 2 says:
Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth Persian king shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
Remember the four kingdoms represented by the four beasts mentioned in Daniel 7 were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. By this point Babylons rule had ended and the Persians were not in power. Since Persia was ruling we know the next kingdom to come into power was Greece.
Daniel 10 starts out: "1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel" . So we know that Cyrus was ruling, because Danel 10 tells us Daniel received the vision in the third year of Cyrus' reign. So when the angel said "there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth Persian king shall be far richer than they all", we then just have to look to the history books to find out who were the four kings that came after Cyrus? A quick google search of 'list of persian kings', will lead you to list of Persian kings sorted by the order they reigned. Based on this we see:
The Current Reigning King Was: Cyrus
The four kings to follow Cyrus were:
1.Cambyses
2.Bardiya
3.Darius I
4.Xerxes I
Remember it was "the fourth Persian king that would be far richer than the previous Persian kings and would stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
So since Xerxes was the fourth king, he was the one according to scripture that would be far richer than the previous Persian kings and would stir up all against the realm of Greecia.
Well..did Xerxes I do that? Think about it. Got your answer? Ok here it is.
Well of course he did, because God said he would. So how did Xerxes stir up all against the realm of Greecia? Even though Wikipedia might not be the best reference, it is an easy source for you to cross-check what I have written. So.. wikipedia tells us what happened after Xerxes' father Darius died:
"Darius died while in the process of preparing a second army to invade the Greek mainland, leaving to his son the task of punishing the Athenians, Naxians, and Eretrians for their interference in the Ionian Revolt, the burning of Sardis, and their victory over the Persians at Marathon. From 483 BC, Xerxes prepared his expedition:"
So we see Xerxes was going up against Greece, but did he stir up anybody?
well let's read the following "Hamilcar (of Carthage) prepared the largest Punic overseas expedition to date and after three years of preparations, sailed for Sicily. This enterprise coincided with the expedition of Xerxes against mainland Greece in 480 BC, prompting speculation about a possible alliance between Carthage and Persia against the Greeks, although no firm evidence of this exists."
Possible alliance? No firm evidence exists? Baloney! These historians need to go read their Bible. There is plenty of firm evidence that an alliance between Carthage and Persia existed in God's word.
Now when we move to Verse 3, we skip way ahead and see the eventual result of Xerxes stirring up the kingdom of Greece and Greece finally moving into power. We read:
3And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 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 beside those.
If you remember from Daniel chapter 8, Greece was represented by the he-goat or rough goat with a single horn between its eyes. That horn was split into four pieces. You will see the same symbolism here, of one kingdom now being split into 4.
3And a mighty king named Alexander the Great shall stand up against Persia, and he shall shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken when he dies unexpectantly, and his kingdom 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 beside those.
The four kings that rose up were:
1. Longimus
2. Lysimachus
3. Seleucus (Great Great Grandfather of Antiochus IV)
4. Ptolemy
So just like the Bible tells us, Alexander's kingdom was divided toward the four winds of heaven, but NOT to Alexander's posterity (seed). And none of the four kings mentioned were of Alexander's seed. Just as God had said.
The two kings that we will be focusing on in the coming weeks will be Seleucus the king of the North, and Ptolemy the king of the south. Remember Antiochus comes from the line of Selucus.
We will continued to study Daniel 10 - 12 next week. Hopefully you have been able to continue to see just how accurate God's word is. Truly God knows the end from the beginning.