The Kings of the North and the South Daniel 11:1-20

The Evil Heart Daniel 11:21-35

The Enemy, - His Arrogance and Opposition Daniel 11:36-45

there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, - we can’t be 100% sure who these three kings are but it is generally considered among the majority of evangelicals that Cyrus (c.576-530 BC), Cambyses (530-521 BC), Darius the Great (521-486 BC) are the kings that are being referred to (however, there are other possibilities!)

It is clear though that the reference to the fourth is Xerxes (486-465 BC); he 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 Greek Empire began with Philip of Macedon who was succeeded by his son Alexander the Great, - a mighty king … with great dominion, and [who did] according to his will.

when he shall stand up = i.e. “when he is at his best”.

his kingdom shall be broken. This is referring to the young age of 32 at which Alexander died, passing through Babylon.

His tremendous reign is a fantastic story of ancient history.

When he died though he didn’t have any family to take over where he had left off, - his two sons, Hercules and Alexander (Junior J) were both assassinated.

So there was a flurry to take his place. His twelve generals all vied for the position but shortly afterwards the power fell under the control of four generals, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; we considered them in ch. 8,

	Macedonia was under Cassander,
	Thrace and Asia Minor were under Lysimachus,
	Syria was under Seleucus,
	Egypt was under Ptolemy.

… These are referred to as the four winds of heaven and the reference to Alexander’s own sons as and not to his posterity.

The prophecy then narrows down to consider the kings of the north and the south. In between these two territories lies the land in which God’s people lived.

The king of the south is Egypt, under the control of Ptolemy Soter (Saviour).

Ptolemy was powerful and influential. The reference, one of his princes, is to Seleucid, who himself was a very influential character.

Seleucus moved north and was based in Syria. He ‘outgrew’ Ptolemy in the south and in an effort to ‘keep the peace’ a descendant of his – thirty-five years later - married the Egyptian daughter (Berenice) of  Ptolemy Philadelphus in the south to a son of Antiochus II in the north. … 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.

What does the rest of the verse mean? but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up (i.e. unto death). Well … things didn’t work out to plan! The Egyptian princess Berenice - who had married Antiochus II - along with their child were murdered (=a shortened version!) … So, the plan didn’t work out too successfully.                    … However, …

But out of a branch of her roots, i.e. from Egypt. This refers to the third Ptolemy, her brother Euergetes (the ‘Well-doer’). He headed north – into the city of the north - and killed those who murdered his sister.

The antagonism between the kingdoms of the north and south continue at a great pace.

These two sons of Antiochus, - Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great, - were in constant search of battle.

It is good to read this carefully! …

his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, - they had insatiable appetite for conflict and war.

one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, - this is absolutely certain, there is no room left for doubt ... the reference is to only one of these two sons. That is because Seleucus Ceraunus died on the battlefield and Antiochus alone was left.

then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. Antiochus now directed his energies against the king of the south, and he marched southwards against Gaza, which was the fortress of the King of the South. We are now down to the year 218 BC when this prophecy was fulfilled.

The king of the south was extremely angry over the encroachment into his territory so he sets out to meet the king of the north … to do battle with him.

The Bible says that the king of the north shall set forth a great multitude … On the other side though, the historical, secular records tell us the king of the south had only (i.e. in comparison) 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 73 elephants.

However, the southerners won the battle at a place called Raphia, near Gaza (217 BC)! … but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

After having won the battle against all the odds the king of the south became so inflated with self-pride. He settled himself into thinking so highly of himself! … Merrily, he returned to Egypt but never achieved anything else of real significance.

About thirteen years later Antiochus decided he had enough force to exact his revenge on the king of the south.

However, Ptolemy Philapator had died and his four-year-old son Ptolemy Epiphanes succeeded him.

Once again, Antiochus was expecting an easy victory.

The ‘many’ refers not only to Antiochus but also to all the enemies of Egypt, including Philip of Macedon and his armies who entered into a league with Antiochus to divide the kingdom of the south.

Not surprisingly, the king of the north and his associates swept to a decisive victory at Sidon.

In this prophecy it is foretold, the arms of the south (Egypt) shall not withstand, neither his chosen people (the land of Israel), neither shall there be any strength to withstand

Antiochus will be unstoppable, - … unbeatable; … the news that would especially have borne down heavily upon Daniel was the fact that Antiochus would stand in the glorious land, - Daniel knew who that was referring to, i.e. the land of Israel.

With great sadness he would have listened so intently, for the glorious land would be by his hand consumed!

Then Antiochus set his face to enter Egypt with the whole strength of his kingdom behind him.

But he had to change his plans. The Egyptian monarchy had sought the help of the Romans, - who were then rising in power, - and their assistance had been promised.

So Antiochus decided to resort to diplomacy. He suggested that his daughter Cleopatra be married to Ptolemy Epiphanes ... then seven years old.

Cleopatra herself was very young, and she would still have been under the care of her mother and her nurse, and that is why she was called the daughter of women.

Epiphanes and Cleopatra were married five years later.

The words corrupting her refer to a scheme Antiochus hatched to get her to play into his hands so that he could be able to use her influence in the Egyptian court.

Antiochus wanted to manipulate his daughter Cleopatra into doing his bidding … but the plan failed. Cleopatra not only took sides with her husband, but she even joined him in sending congratulations to the Romans on their victories over her father! … but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.

Utterly despairing, as far as Egypt was concerned, Antiochus turned his attention towards what he thought would have been easier conquests, - Asia Minor and some of the Mediterranean islands.

However, that wasn’t successful either because the Roman Lucius Scipio Asiaticus utterly defeated him (a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease) and Antiochus was absolutely devastated and humiliated!

Antiochus was at an all-time low! He was embarrassed and dishonoured, he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

Antiochus didn’t recover and he was succeeded by his eldest son, Seleucus Philopater.

Being hard-pressed for money to pay the taxes that had been imposed on his father Philopater sent his Treasurer, Heliodorus, to Jerusalem, - the glory of the kingdom, - to confiscate the treasures of the Temple.

Shortly afterwards, within few days, it seems that Philopater was poisoned by Heliodorus. So, - just as the Bible prophesied, - he died neither in anger, nor in battle.

Yes, this verse could easily be applied to Antichrist but primarily here it is still with reference to Antiochus, who set himself up in opposition to God and the people of God.

In every sense of the word he is a vile creature! The people would not call him king … because he had no right since he was not of royal blood but, nonetheless, he wanted to rule over them, - that was his definite aim.

The subtle way he tried to win them over was with cunningness and flattery, - we shall see how that is also the trait of Antichrist.

This refers to the alliance he had with Egypt … despite being the ruler to a relatively small number of people.

Egypt (i.e. the other great power) will be in his sights to overcome and his activity, - political and every other way, - will be marked with deceit.

He was a master-deceiver. He managed to wangle his way into the confidence of the Egyptian people with the ultimate hope of bringing them under his authority.

He will be more successful than ever any of his predecessors were … and so Antiochus was … as will be the Antichrist.

When the Egyptians thought they could trust him he slipped in behind them and took them unawares. Such is the pedigree of antichrist!

He promises them great success and great victories … all with the one aspiration of deceiving them and capturing their minds.

They pretended to have a coalition and they sat round the table letting on they were friends when neither one trusted the other an inch! … And that was exactly what history records between Philometer of Egypt and Antiochus.

Coalitions in hell have the devil as their master and God simply allows them to continue only until the time appointed.

This master-rogue – full of himself! – returns home rich, godless and apparently unstoppable.

Where is God in all this? Why doesn’t He do something? This evil man Antiochus is increasing more and more and it seems nothing can stop him.

He is against the holy covenant and the city of God and the people of God; why does God allow the evil to prosper?!

What a beautiful statement of fact … God is in control! At the time appointed – God determines the movements of this man.

When Antiochus headed towards the south, - to Egypt, - he thought he was well-prepared to meet the armies. Little did he know, - for his vanity and pride had blinded his eyes, - that great and all as he thought he was he was heading towards ruin and downfall.

The empire belonging to Greece, - of which Antiochus was a dominant part, - was soon to be replaced by the upcoming might of the Roman Empire (cf. Dan. 7:6,7)

As far back as Num. 24:24 Baalam foretold ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber …

These ships of Chittim refer to the Roman ships (of Popilius Laenas, Livy 45:10; Poly 29:1) which sailed to Egypt to stop Antiochus (after Egypt, fearing Antiochus, made a plea for help to the Romans).

The force gathering against Antiochus was too much for him to stand against and he returned to Jerusalem defeated without even having fought the battle.

In Jerusalem Antiochus set out to absolutely obliterate the Jewish people. As with Hitler, he began a series of pograms towards that end.

Notice it was his aim to ‘pollute’, ‘take away’ and make desolate the place of worship among God’s people, - that too we shall see is the purpose of Antichrist.

Antiochus was cruelly savage and he was so offensive to the people of Jerusalem that he rode into the temple on his horse, knocked to the ground the altar of burnt offering and set up his own pagan altar to an unclean pig and began to present worship to it.

In every sense of the word the man was an abomination!

He gathered round him Jewish collaborators (such as do wickedly against the covenant), - these were apostates, men who had known the Truth but who had bartered and misused and sold the privilege of being called the children of God.

They become so polluted by Antiochus! These were the ‘ecumenists’ of the day; thinking they could get a better deal from Antiochus they joined up with him!

On the other hand, the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. I Macc.1:62 Howbeit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing. 63: Wherefore the rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: so then they died.

There remained a people in Jerusalem who were consistently faithful to God and did not succumb to the antics of Antiochus.

Such a people as these point to the fact that in the last days of the Antichrist there will also remain a people faithful unto God …

Yes, God was to keep unto Himself a body of people who would be faithful in the face of such extreme opposition.

These men would secretly have gone throughout Jerusalem and Judea faithfully teaching the Scriptures given to them many years ago through Moses, leading the people in prayer, and keeping alive the hope that one day the Messiah would enter Jerusalem and begin His reign.

They saw the wider picture than the evils of Antiochus and they held unstintingly on to their faith in God.

However, for their faithfulness they would suffer much for God … as indeed they did … as indeed have all the faithful down through the centuries in the face of the antichrists … and of course as the true Church will remain faithful in the days of the final Antichrist.

Notice that the Word says, Now when they shall fall, - yet God will remain nearby to lift them up, but notice also there are two groups of people here:

There are those who shall be holpen (aided, helped) with a little help. These faithful people of Jerusalem saw a possibility that their case might be upheld (i.e. a little help) … as many did when the Maccabean family stood up and rebelled against the invader. However, the revolt was unsuccessful.

These were the compromisers who reckoned on Antiochus staying in power and becoming more and more of a success … so they sided with him, many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

During the terrible time of persecution of God’s faithful people under Antiochus some of them – who were trying so hard – stumbled and fell. They succumbed to the pressures thrown at them from Antiochus and his companions.

Also, the purpose of God was sifting the ‘wheat’ from the ‘chaff’ to make His people pure and white.

God has often used persecution for this end. It has often been the way He has sorted out the ‘sheep’ from the ‘goats’.

Through it all though, once again, we are assured of the sovereignty of God … that He is in total control, because it is yet for a time appointed.

All this happened at the time when this cruel man Antiochus Epiphanes was ruler. He became a ruler by deceitful means and his rule was wicked.

These were events that the Angel was relaying to Daniel, … events yet to happen in the future. Remember, this is prophecy!

Once again, the Bible, - God’s Word, - is being proved to be true and accurate relating correctly the activities yet to come.

Daniel 11:21-35 builds upon the evilness of this man Antiochus but from v.36 – v.45 there is a clear development of another person … to whom Antiochus is simply a type.

History is full of antichrists; anyone who sets themselves up in the place of – or in opposition to - God or His Son is an antichrist.

In recent years obvious contenders for the position have been Hitler and Stalin, Castro, Pol Pot and Kim Jong Il, Saddam Hussein, the successive popes of Rome.

Yes, when someone, - no matter who they are or where they come from, - knowingly speaks words contrary to the inspired Word of God they make themselves out to be antichrists … speaking in opposition to God.

In the first thirty-five verses of this chapter eleven God shows Daniel what must be; as we are able to look back objectively through history we can trace God’s Word as factual and correct.

He is the God of order; He is the God Who is in control; He is the God Who oversees the plans and designs of even all those who oppose Him.

He is about to show to Daniel – and to al who read this book faithfully – the rule of the Antichrist and the implications for God’s people.

Look at those final beautiful words, v.45 yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

I trust that the study of God’s Word will be a great encouragement to God’s people.

“That’s obvious!” you may say. No, I don’t believe it is. The way he has been marketed by many prophetic preachers would liken him more to an oppressive, powerful alien from outer space or something concocted out of a horror movie. But remember that this is a real man.

Remember also that the devil always likes to ‘act’ what God does; he is a pathetic creature and outside of the will of God he would have no power at all. He wants to be God and that was what caused his fall out of Heaven, Is. 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground.

Ezekiel saw it similarly when he described the aspirations of the prince of Tyre pointing towards the Antichrist, Ezek. 28:2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.

The Antichrist will set out to imitate God and he will have his own ‘trinity’ (which is not a Trinity in the God sense, Rev. 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.) This false prophet will set out to imitate Elijah’s power on Mount Carmel by calling down fire from Heaven (Rev. 13:13) and will do great wonders and he and his fellow-prophets will succeed in deceiving many.

Also, … what did God do …? He sent Jesus … Jesus 100% God, 100% man. The devil says, “Since that is what God did, I’ll do it too!” But the old fool will not recognise that everything he does is simply not nearly as good as how God does it, and yet he’ll set out to mimic the incarnation by ‘indwelling’ a real man sold over to Satan to do the works of the devil just as Jesus came to earth to do the work of God.

We even have a glimpse of this at the table of the Last Supper, … look what John 13:27 records when Judas Iscariot resisted the pleas of Jesus, And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. That is how Satan will institute not the God-Man (Who was Jesus) but the Devil-man, - he will enter into the Antichrist in a special particular way as he did with Judas.

But this man will be/is a real 100% person! … And he shall do everything according to the will and plan of the devil (as permitted by God), … as Jesus told the Pharisees, Jn. 8: 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.

However, before we get into him too deeply notice what must be the most important words of this passage, v.36b for that that is determined shall be done. This man will be a person.

He wants to be the greatest ruler who has ever lived, - he wants a throne second to none!

	Remember the first one ever who had that desire to stand up and try to take the Throne from God, - Lucifer, Satan, the devil, Apollyon, the prince of darkness, the dragon, the old serpent, - Is. 14 again gives us the altogether overwhelming desire of his heart, v.13 I will exalt my throne [even before he got it, or was ever likely to get it!!] above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (… It is so important to grasp hold of what is the underlying agenda of the Antichrist and all those who have preceded him).
	Remember also when the same devil brought Jesus up into a high mountain and showed Him the magnificence of all the kingdoms of the world … the devil offered Jesus the throne over them all.
	But incidentally, the throne has never been his to offer; in Ps. 47:7,8 we read, God is the King of all the earth: … 8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. It’s not the devil’s throne to give … much less to offer it to the One Whose Father has always been, is, and will always be its Occupant!

But this great ruler will be like nothing ever before! The devil knows it’s his last chance and he puts everything into it. Here is what the Bible says about this Antichrist,

v.36 He shall do according to his will; he will be virtually unstoppable, and successful in everything he does; whatever he puts his hand and his mind to he will achieve.