THE KINGS OF THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH
Daniel
Chapters 11:1-45
King James Version (NIV)
The Rule of Persia
11 Also I in the first
year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
2 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.
The Rule of Greece
3 And 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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:
8 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.
9 So the king of the south
shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.
17 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.
18 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.
19 Then he shall turn his
face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be
found.
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.
21 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.
22 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.
23 And after the league
made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become
strong with a small people.
24 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.
25 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 shall forecast devices against
him.
26 Yea, they that feed of
the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and
many shall fall down slain.
27 And both of 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.
28 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.
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.
30 For the ships of
Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and
have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even
return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
31 And arms shall stand on
his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away
the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
32 And such as do wickedly
against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do
know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
33 And they that
understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the
sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall
fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them
with flatteries.
35 And some of them of
understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white,
even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Prophecy of the Willful King
36 And the king shall do
according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above
every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall
be done.
37 Neither shall he regard
the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he
shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall
he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he
honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the
most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase
with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the
land for gain.
40 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.
41 He shall enter also
into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall
escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of
Ammon.
42 He shall stretch forth
his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power
over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of
Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the
east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with
great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45 And he shall plant the
tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet
he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
REMINDER:
Author: Daniel
Date: Late Sixth Century B.C.
Theme: God Controls the Destiny of All Nations
Key Words: Kings, Kingdoms, Visions, Dreams
11:2-39 This section requires familiarity with the
history of the Persian and Greek periods. Its focus is the career of Antiochus
Epiphanes who ruled Persia from 175 to 163 B.C. It
also shows the conflicts of governments, as kings seek power and wealth through
war, invasion, and marriage. While these events are past now, they occurred
centuries after Daniel’s prophesying, which again emphasizes the supernatural
insight the prophet was given.
11:2 The reference to four Persian kings may
include all Persian kings, down to the last one, Darius III (331 B.C.).
11:3 The mighty king is
Alexander the great who conquered Persia in 331 B.C. 11:5 The south refers to Egypt. Six of her kings are mentioned (vv. 5,6,7-9; 10-12; 14-17, 25-28).
11:6 The north is Syria. Seven of her kings are mention (vv. 5,6, 7-9, 10-19, 20, 21-45).
11:7 The branch is the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ptolemy III, who ruled from 246 to 221 B.C.
11:16 The glorious land is Israel, which Antiochus the Great conquered in 199 B.C.
11:21 The vile person is Antiochus IV, the Syrian king who ruled from 175 to 163 B.C. He gave himself the name Epiphanes, "God is Manifest," but was called Epimanes ("Madman") by his enemies. The exact nature of his gaining control by flatteries is uncertain.
11:22 The prince of the covenant was the Jewish high priest, Onias III.
11:29-39 Antiochus’s invasion against Jerusalem included regulations against circumcision, Sabbath observance, and dietary practices.
11:30 Ships from Chittim were a delegation from Rome.
11:31 The abomination that maketh desolate was the erection of the altar of Zeus over the altar of burnt offerings in the temple.
11:36-45 The king shall do according to his will: In dispensational interpretation, the king is the head of the revised Roman Empire, the "little horn" of ch .7, the Antichrist. This passage predicts his end of the governments and rulers of this world is depicted.
Ψ CLASSICAL INTERPRETATION: In this context
classical interpreters see this in reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, archetype
of the Antichrist, who is seen as being particularly described in vv. 40-45.
STILL MORE BACKGROUND TO COME…the final chapter_
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/President/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
info@biblestoriestheatre.org
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
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