https://versebyversecommentary.com/2002/05/07/daniel-115-20/

Daniel 11

Warring Kings of North (Syrians) and South (Egyptians)

• The history of the Kings of the North and the Kings of the South are the warring dynasties between the Syrians and the Egyptians after the death of Alexander the Great. Jerusalem suffered greatly because the city was caught in the middle of these warring rulers. The area was called “Cole-Syria”. Extra-Biblical sources help identify the specific rulers. (* See footnotes at end of chapter).

• The Kings of the North and the Kings of the South is a difficult study even for scholars but worth the persistence. Daniel 11 reveals secrets about the coming Antichrist.

• Why is this important? Studying scripture keeps people from crazy speculations concerning end times.

• ► Prophetically: See Topic: The I.D. of the Antichrist

Warring Kings of North (Syrians) and South (Egyptians)

Daniel 11:¹ “Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

• Timeline: This is the beginning of Persian Rule after the conquest of Babylon.
• God is about to tell Daniel the future of the Persian Empire:

Daniel 11:² And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings (after Cyrus) will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

• The fourth king is significant in the history and future of the Jews.

• Cyrus the Great (550-530 BC), then 1) Cambyses II (530 -522 BC) who was killed in battle, 2) then Darius I (522-486 BC),  3) then Xerxes I (486-465 BC), then 4) Artaxerxes

• Artaxerxes I reigned 486-465 BC with his Queen Esther (ie: the book of Esther), a Jew.

1. Comparing the timeline of these kings with information concerning the captivity we discover Esther fits within the timeline of Artaxerxes I given the fact that Kish was the progenitor of Mordecai, Esther’s uncle. Kish was taken captive with King Jehoiachin 597 BC.
2. Women typically are not mentioned with kings unless there is a significant statement to be made. In the book of Nehemiah who served Artaxerxes I as his cupbearer, mentions that his queen was sitting at his side. Nehemiah knew Esther’s Jewish identity.
3. The description of the king’s wealth also fits with of Artaxerxes I. His full title is Artaxerxes I Longimanus Makrocheir.  The meaning of Longimanus alludes to the extended reach of his kingdom because it means “Long arm”.

Daniel 11:³ Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

• Scripture skips over other Persian kings until the last one:

• (Those omitted are: Darius II Ochus Nothus 423-404 BC, Artaxerxes II Mnemon 404-358 BC, Artaxerxes III Ochus 358-338 BC), scripture “groups” family dynasties together and speaks of them as one.

• The last king is Darius III Codomannus (336-330 BC) who is conquered by this “mighty” king, Alexander the Great of Macedon (Greek).

Daniel 11:⁴ And when he (Alexander the Great, the goat with one horn in Daniel 8) has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up (at his death) and divided toward the four winds of heaven (his four generals, the four horns on the goat after the first horn has been broken off), but not among his posterity (his children) nor according to his dominion (his territory is broken up) with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

• Alexander died unexpectedly in his early thirties in the Babylonian palace of Nebuchadnezzar having a kingdom that was huge: from India thru Africa and North to Greece.
  
  A bloodbath ensued at his death over his territories beginning within his family and extending to power hungry generals.
  
  A politician called Antigonus crowned his son Demetrius as Alexander’s successor, but it was a coalition of four generals that overcame them, to take the four major territories:
  
  In 305 BC, after the extinction of the old royal line of Macedonia (The murder of Phillip II and Alexander IV), the four successors assumed their titles.
  • Cassander assumed rule over Macedonia and Greece.
  • Lysimacus took control of Thrace, Bithynia, and most of Asia Minor.
  • Ptolemy established rule over Egypt.
  • Seleucus took Syria and the lands to the east, including Babylonia.
  • Other, less notable generals took smaller territories.

• Ptolemy (Toll-em-ee) and his dynastic line are the kings of the South.
• Seleucus (Sell-ew-shush) and his dynastic line are the kings of the North.

• There were four wars before the successors were firmly established called the “Wars of the Diadochi” (Diadochi means successors). These four successors are the four heads on the leopard and the four wars are the four wings on the Leopard in Daniel chapter seven.

 

Warring Kings of North (Syria) and South (Egypt)

• This is the beginning of infighting between two powerful dynasties called the Syrian Wars: Egypt becomes synonymous with the dynastic rulers named Ptolemys & Cleopatras while the Syrian Seleucid Empire becomes synonymous with the dynastic rulers named the Antiochuses.

• Egypt is the King of the South in Daniel while Syria is the King of the North. The dynasty of Egypt began with Alexander’s general Ptolemy. The dynasty of Syria began with Alexander’s general Seleucus. Had they read Daniel’s scriptures, they surely would have recognized themselves in the prophecies of Daniel.

Daniel 11:⁵ “Also the king of the South (Ptolemy I) shall become strong, as well as one of his (Alexander’s) princes (Seleucus I); and he (Seleucus I) shall gain power over him (Ptolemy I) and have dominion. His (Seleucus I) dominion shall be a great dominion.

 Daniel 11:⁶ And at the end of some years they shall join forces (Ptolemy II and Antiochus II), for the daughter (Berenice) of the king of the South (Ptolemy II) shall go to the king of the North (Antiochus II) to make an agreement;

• A peace agreement was made (about 250 BC) between Ptolemy II, the son of Ptolemy I, and Antiochus II, the grandson of Seleucus, which included the marriage of Ptolemy’s II daughter, Berenice Phernophorus, to Antiochus II to seal the alliance between and Syria and Egypt.

but she (Egyptian Berenice) shall not retain the power of her authority (Lit. arm-husband), and neither he (her husband, Antiochus II) nor his authority shall stand;

• Antiochus II had to repudiate/divorce his present wife Laodice (which enraged Laodice, and she would make him pay!)

but she (Bernice) shall be given up,

• Berenice Phernophorus and her children now would inherit the Seleucid throne. This arrangement settled the Second Syrian War.
• However! Berenice was betrayed by Antiochus II. He left Berenice and reunited with Laodice in Asia Minor.

with those who brought her (Berenice), and with him who begot her (Ptolemy II), and with him (probably her brother Ptolemy III Euergetes) who strengthened her in those times.  

• Laodice poisoned Antiochus II and had her partisans at Antioch murder Berenice and her infant son.  Laodice installed her son, Seleucus II Callinicus (247-226 BC), as the Seleucid king. 

• 

Daniel 11:⁷ But from a branch of her roots one shall arise (Ptolemy III) in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail.

• The phrase “branch of her roots” refers to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221 BC).  Ptolemy avenged the death of his sister Berenice and attacked Seleucus II at Antioch in Syria killing Laodice.  He also conquered adjacent territory extending his kingdom. 

Daniel 11:⁸ And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes (or molded images) and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.

• Ptolemy III returned to Egypt from Antioch with Egypt’s treasures: idols, princes and precious articles of silver and gold. 

• Jerome in his commentary provides a detailed description of Ptolemy Euergetes conquest of the King of the North. “He came up with a great army and advanced into the province of the king of the North, that is Seleucus Callinicus, who together with his mother Laodice was ruling in Syria, and abused them (killing Laodice), and not only did he seize Syria, but also took Cilicia and the remoter regions beyond the Euphrates and nearly all of Asia as well. And then, when he heard that a rebellion was afoot in Egypt,  he ravaged the kingdom of Seleucus and carried off as booty forty thousand talents of Silver, and also precious vessels and images of the gods to the amount of two and half thousand. Among them were the same images which Cambyses had brought to Persia at the time when he conquered Egypt. The Egyptian people were indeed devoted to idolatry, for when he had brought back their gods to them after so many years, they called him Euergetes (Benefactor).

• He later signed a peace treaty with Seleucus II in 240 BC, which brought temporary reconciliation between them. 

Daniel 11:⁹ “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land.

• Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the North, later unsuccessfully invaded Egypt. He died by a fall from a horse. 

Daniel 11:¹⁰ However his (Selecus II) sons (Seleucus III and Antiochus III) shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one (Antiochus III) shall certainly come (to Israel which was under the control of Egypt) and overwhelm (Egypt) and pass through (Israel); then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife.

• Seleucus III took his father’s throne after Seleucus II’s death in 226 BC. He (Seleucus III) was killed in Asia Minor, returning home to confront a pretender to the throne. His brother Antiochus III then becomes the King of the North. Antiochus III attacks Egypt and gains control of Israel which had been in Egypt’s control.

• The control of Israel changed hands from Egypt to Syria.

Daniel 11:¹¹ “And the king of the South (Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt) shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him (Antiochus III?), with the king of the North (Syrians), who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.

• The “king of the South” in this verse refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-204 B.C.).  He attempted to recapture lost territory to the north by attacking the southern borders of Israel in 217 B.C. at Raphia and crushed the Seleucid army.  Ptolemy raised an army of 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 73 elephants.  The king of the South (Ptolemy) defeated the king of the North (“given into the hand of his enemy”). 

Daniel 11:¹² When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up (Proud); and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.

• The “he” of this verse is the king of the South, Ptolemy IV.  Ptolemy did not pursue the victory of verse 11, so he did not obtain all of Palestine.  Ptolemy did not “prevail” because Antiochus in the end prevailed over him. 

Daniel 11:¹³ For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.

• Antiochus III proceeded to other conquests to the east and north.  He returned to Egypt about 203 B.C. with a much larger army and put down the Egyptians under Ptolemy V.  He also took Palestine to Gaza. 

Daniel 11:¹⁴ “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men (Or robbers, Literally: sons of breakage) of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment (Lit. to establish) of the vision, but they shall fall.

• The king of the South in this verse is Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203-181 B.C.).  Philip V of Macedonia and the Jews of Israel joined Antiochus III in attacking the Egyptians under Ptolemy V. 

Daniel 11:¹⁵ So the king of the North (Syrians) shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces (Lit. arms) of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.

• The “fortified city” is Sidon on the coast of Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea.  Antiochus (III) the Great captured it from the Ptolemies around 200 B.C.  He defeated the Egyptian General Scopas at Paneas (Dan) at the headwaters of the Jordan.  This was a strategic conquest for the Seleucid kingdom. 

Daniel 11:¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land (Israel) with destruction in his power (Lit. hand).

• Antiochus III enhanced his control over Israel by defeating the Egyptians under Scopas.

Daniel 11:¹⁷ “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and (Or: bring equitable terms) upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him.

• In the phrase “he shall give him,” the “him” is the king of the South.  The “daughter” is Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus.  Cleopatra married Ptolemy V. 

• Antiochus III initiated peace with Egypt by offering his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy V in marriage.  Cleopatra did not remain loyal to Syria, however, so her father did not gain dominance over Egypt.  Cleopatra sided with her husband against her father although Ptolemy V was only a young man of seventeen. 

Daniel 11:¹⁸ After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him.

• The “ruler” here is the Roman commander Lucius Cornelius Scipio. Antiochus III directed his attention toward Asia Minor (197 B.C.) and Greece (192 B.C.) where the Romans had authority.  He did not succeed because Scipio defeated him in 190 B.C. in the Battle of Magnesia near Smyrna.  Scipio crossed the Hellespont to pursue Antiochus and forced the Syrian to surrender all his European and Asiatic possessions as far as the Taurus Mountains, to pay 15,000 talents over a period of twelve years, and to surrender Hannibal (who escaped). 

Daniel 11:¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

• Antiochus III returned from Greece to Antioch and died in 187 BC.  He wanted to reunite Alexander’s Empire but failed because he did not assess the power of the Roman Empire correctly. 

Daniel 11:²⁰ “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.

• The one who “imposes taxes” was Seleucus IV Philopator (187-176 BC).  Antiochus’ elder son Seleucus IV succeeded the throne.  He taxed his people heavily to pay for the 15,000 talents.  This put a heavy burden on the Jews under his reign.  His Jewish tax collector, Heliodorus (2 Macc 3:7), poisoned him because of this burden as this verse predicted.  He did not die in battle.  This caused great persecution on the Jews in years to come. 

▲History: The historical kingdoms battling over Jerusalem, caught in the middle.

▼Future: The coming Antichrist

 Daniel 11:²¹ And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

• This person is Antiochus IV Epiphanes; a foreshadow of theAntichrist to come. They are similar in their intent to annihilate the Jews and they parallel each other, one in our past and the other in our future. However; both are in Daniel’s future.

• Antiochus IV was this “vile” person and his characteristics are those of the Antichrist who will rule for seven years during the seven year tribulation.
  
  • The first characteristic given is that “he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries”:
    • “King Antiochus (IV) returning out of Egypt for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against the city Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucids, he took the city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gates to him. And when he had gotten possession of Jerusalem, he slew many of the opposite party; and when he had plundered it of a great deal of money, he returned to Antioch.”
      ^{http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/tx/Antiquities12.htm}
  • He breaks a treaty of peace in betrayal.
    • “Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third Olympiad, that the king (Antiochus IV) came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,) and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league (peace treaty) he had made.” 
      ^{Antiquity of the Jews: Book XII Chapter 5 #4}
  • He plunders the temple. He symbolically rips the hooves off the “sheep” of Israel and devours them. He demands the oblations and sacrifices to cease.
    • “So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar (of incense), and table (of shew-bread that Ptolemy II gave to the Jews in exchange for the Septuagint), and the altar (of burnt-offering); and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer those daily sacrifices which they used to offer to God, according to the law. And when he had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some he carried captive, together with their wives and children, so that the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted to about ten thousand. He also burnt down the finest buildings; and when he had overthrown the city walls, he built a citadel in the lower part of the city, for the place was high, and overlooked the temple; on which account he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put into it a garrison of Macedonians. However, in that citadel dwelt the impious and wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude, from whom it proved that the citizens suffered many and sore calamities.”
      ^{http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/tx/Antiquities12.htm}
  • He defiles the Holy of Holies, the desecration that causes desolation.
    • And when the king had built an idol altar upon God’s altar, he slew swine upon it, and so offered a sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the Jewish religious worship in that country.”
  • “He also compelled them to forsake the worship which they paid their own God, and to adore those whom he took to be gods; and made them build temples, and raise idol altars in every city and village, and offer swine upon them every day.”
  • “He also commanded them not to circumcise their sons, and threatened to punish any that should be found to have transgressed his injunction. He also appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded. And indeed many Jews there were who complied with the king’s commands, either voluntarily, or out of fear of the penalty that was denounced. But the best men, and those of the noblest souls, did not regard him, but did pay a greater respect to the customs of their country than concern as to the punishment which he threatened to the disobedient; on which account they every day underwent great miseries and bitter torments; for they were whipped with rods, and their bodies were torn to pieces, and were crucified, while they were still alive, and breathed.”
  • “They also strangled those women and their sons whom they had circumcised, as the king had appointed, hanging their sons about their necks as they were upon the crosses. (As fathers hung on the cross in the agony of crucifixion, they had to watch as their wives and their sons were hung from their necks) And if there were any sacred book of the law found, it was destroyed, and those with whom they were found miserably perished also.”
    ^{http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/tx/Antiquities12.htm}

• Antiochus IV defiled the temple on Kislev 25.
  • THREE YEARS LATER on the SAME DAY the temple is rededicated after being cleansed. Hanukkah means “dedication”.
  • They cleaned the Temple. They rebuilt the Jewish altar and on 25 Kislev 165 BC, exactly 3 years after the statue was put up, the altar and Temple was rededicated to God.
    • Then, with new fire started by striking flint, they offered sacrifice for the first time in 2 years, burned incense, lighted the lamps, and set out the sacred loaves. After they had done all this, they lay face down on the ground and prayed that the Lord would never again let such disasters strike them. They begged him to be merciful when he punished them for future sins and not hand them over any more to barbaric, pagan Gentiles. They rededicated the Temple on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, the same day of the same month on which the Temple had been desecrated by the Gentiles. The happy celebration lasted 8 days (to Tevet 2nd or 3rd depending on whether there were 29 or 30 days in the month of Kislev, like the Festival of Shelters (booths), and the people remembered how only a short time before, they had spent the Festival of Shelters (booths) wandering like wild animals in the mountains and living in caves. But now, carrying green palm branches and sticks decorated with ivy, they paraded around, singing grateful praises to him who had brought about the purification of his own Temple. 2nd Maccabees 3-7

• In the future, there will be another rededication of the temple in the New Jerusalem.
  • [The Glory of the New Jerusalem] But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Rev 21:22
    • A spiritual rededication of the Jews. Like the Gentiles, their bodies are the temple in which the Holy Spirit now dwells.

• Antiochus IV defiled the temple on Kislev 25.  The sanctuary was cleansed on the same day 3 years after Antiochus IV defiled the Holy of Holies. The New Jerusalem will be the cleansing of the temple of those who serve in it and it will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

• The cleansing of the temple is called “Hanukkah” or “Chanukah”. The Festival of Lights.
  • When Jesus sets up his kingdom on earth believing Jews will be serving Him in the New Jerusalem.
    • Acts 13:47 For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
    • Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
    • Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”

• (Two other memorial events occurred on this exact date, Kislev 25, in history: The Jews entered Jerusalem after gaining independence from Antiochus IV in 165 BC and General Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917 AD freeing Jerusalem from the Turks. Both events were major turning points in freedom for the Jews.)

Daniel 11:²² With the force (Literally: arms) of a flood (army) they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant (the Antichrist who will make and break the peace treaty).

Daniel 11:²³ And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people.

• Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings.

• Revelation 17:12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
  • The Antichrist begins as a “little horn” but is promoted until he becomes a world ruler.

Daniel 11:²⁴ He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil (booty), and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.

Daniel 11:²⁵ “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 devise plans against him.

Daniel 11:²⁶ Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away (Or overflow), and many shall fall down slain.

Daniel 11:²⁷ Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.

Daniel 11:²⁸ While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.

The Northern (Syrian) King’s Blasphemies

Daniel 11:²⁹ “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter.

Daniel 11:³⁰ For ships from Cyprus (Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus) shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant (with Israel), and do damage.

“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake (abandon) the holy covenant.

• Numbers 24:24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, and they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek (of Gog aka Agag), until he perishes.”

Daniel 11:³¹ And forces (Literally: arms) shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress (the temple); then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.

• Although Antiochus IV fulfilled this prophecy from the future of Daniel’s perspective, it is a double prophecy because it has yet to be duplicated in Jesus’ future.
  • Matthew 24:15 [The Great Tribulation] “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),
  • Mark 13:14 [The Great Tribulation] “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

• There are debates as to the timing of this second prophecy. Some believe it happened when Titus destroyed Herod’s temple in 70AD. But there are many problems with this theory, too many. For a treatise on this subject see XXXX.
  
  Rather, it will happen in the future seven year tribulation ruled by the Antichrist.

• The Antichrist will make a seven year treaty with Israel, but betray the Jews half-way through the treaty. The Jews will have to run for their lives. The next three and a half years will be worse than the time of Hitler in Germany.

Daniel 11:³² Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt (pollute) with flattery; but the people who know their God (‘ĕlōhîm) shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Daniel 11:³³ And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.

Daniel 11:³⁴ Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue (Or slipperiness, flattery).

Daniel 11:³⁵ And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

Daniel 11:³⁶ “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.

Daniel 11:³⁷ He shall regard neither the God (Or gods) of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.

Daniel 11:³⁸ But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses (militaristic); and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.

Daniel 11:³⁹ Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain (profit).

The Northern King’s Conquests

Daniel 11:⁴⁰ “At the time of the end the king of the South (Egypt) shall attack him (the Antichrist); and the king of the North (Syria) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.

• If he is Syrian, then why does Egypt and Syria attack him? I believe this is the middle of the tribulation when he breaks the peace treaty and attacks Jerusalem, overcomes Syria to become the “king of the North”, overcomes Egypt, and enters Jerusalem. He also overtakes Libya and Ethiopia.

 Daniel 11:⁴¹ He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand:

• Edom, Moab, and the prominent (Lit. chief of the sons of Ammon) people of Ammon.

Daniel 11:⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Daniel 11:⁴³ He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.

Daniel 11:⁴⁴ But news from the east and (out of) the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.

• See: Rev 9:14-19

• For the Antichrist this is the march to Armageddon.

Daniel 11:⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

■  1) Antiochus IV died returning to Jerusalem.

► 1) The Antichrist, indwelt by Satan, will be killed fleeing from Jerusalem.

• Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
• Zechariah 14:5 Then you (the Antichrist indwelt by Satan) shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You.
• Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea (of people).

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• Footnoted -extra-biblical sources of the kings over Cole-Syria
  • Second-century B.C. Greek historian Polybius,
  • The apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees,
  • The Roman historian Livy (59 BC- 17AD),
  • Josephus (second century AD),
  • Appian (second century writer)
  • Historian- Porphyry
  • Diodorus Siculus (first century BC writer),