Daniel 11:25-35

25 "With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
26 Those who eat his provisions[a] will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant;[b] he will take action, then return to his own land.
29 "At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time[c] will not be like the first.
30 Ships of Kittim[d][e]will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant.
31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice[f] and set up the abomination of desolation.[g]
32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.
33 Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time.
34 When defeated, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.
35 Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed[h] until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Daniel 11:25-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 11

In this chapter the angel makes good his promise to Daniel, that he would show him what was written in the Scripture of truth, concerning the monarchies of the earth, and what would befall his people the Jews in the latter days; and after he had observed that he had strengthened and confirmed Darius the Mede, who was the first king of the then present flourishing monarchy, Da 11:1, he foretells the number of the kings of Persia, and particularly describes the fourth, Da 11:2 predicts the rise of the Grecian monarchy under Alexander the great, and the disposition of it after his death, Da 11:3,4 and then proceeds to give an account of the two principal kingdoms of that monarchy, into which it was divided, the Seleucidae and Lagidae; and of their kings, the king of Egypt, and the king of Syria, under the names of the king of the south, and the king of the north, and of their power and agreement, Da 11:5,6 and then of their various wars between themselves and others, and the success of them, Da 11:7-20, and particularly of Antiochus, his character and manner of coming to the kingdom, and of his wars with the king of Egypt, and the issue of them, Da 11:21-29 and of his persecution of the Jews, and the distress he should bring on them, and the use it should be of to the godly among them, Da 11:30-35, and then his antitype, antichrist, is described; the western antichrist, his character and actions, Da 11:36-39 then the eastern, his power, wealth and riches, hail and rain, Da 11:40-45.

Footnotes 8

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