Civil War: Just as God Said It Would Happen

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Civil War: Just as God Said It Would Happen

Daniel 11:1-20

Main Idea: God knows about the future in advance and reigns sovereign over the rise and fall of all kingdoms great and small, directing history according to his providential plan.

  1. God Raised Up Medo-Persia and Greece According to His Plan and Purposes (11:1-4).
    1. God supports and protects as he chooses (11:1-2).
    2. God breaks and divides as he chooses (11:3-4).
  2. God Raised Up Egypt and Syria According to His Plan and Purposes (11:5-20).
    1. God gave Egypt victory, but its king exalted himself (11:5-12).
    2. God gave Syria victory, but its king was willful and insolent (11:13-20).

In James 4:1-2, the Bible says,

What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives.

Lust for power, lust for prestige, lust for possessions—a bloodlust for more is a dark cloud that has cast its ominous shadow over the totality of human history going all the way back to Genesis 4 and the story of Cain and Abel. Daniel 11 gives us more of the same.

Daniel 10–12 is a unit, and it gives us the final vision of this remarkable book of prophecy. It gives us a glimpse of the history that takes place between the Old and New Testaments, what is sometimes called the four hundred silent years. Chapter 10 provides the context. Chapter 11 contains the content. Chapter 12 is the conclusion.

Chapter 11 is a remarkable passage for a number of different reasons. Because of its unique content some, like H. C. Leupold, do not think it can be preached in a sermon (Exposition of Daniel, 525). It might be OK for a Bible study but not proclamation. On the other hand, because of its detailed and accurate description of history, more liberal scholars have denied its prophetic nature, arguing that a second-century author simply recorded past history and passed it off as prophecy. There is a technical, theological term for this: vaticinium ex eventu, which means “prophecy from or after the event.”

My response to these two claims is simple and straightforward. First, since all Scripture is divinely inspired, then all Scripture, including Daniel 11, should be preached. It may be more challenging than a Pauline letter, but it still should be proclaimed. I basically agree with James Boice:

Even though the eleventh chapter is difficult, it calls for a detailed explanation. . . . This is the last, longest, most detailed, and therefore most important, prophecy in the book. (Daniel, 111)

Second, the issue of prophecy comes down to the supernatural and the nature of God. If the God of the Bible is omniscient—knowing all things past, present, and future—then even highly detailed predictive prophecy like Daniel 11 is not a problem. Sinclair Ferguson is right:

What is at stake then is a vital issue: Does God so rule history and can He so communicate with us that His future purposes may be disclosed to us before the events? (Daniel, 204)

It is my conviction, rooted in a supernatural worldview, that this chapter is a bona fide prophecy of future events. God inspired it, the angel revealed it, Daniel wrote it, and we get to read and interpret it!

The first twenty verses of Daniel 11, the object of our study, break down into two uneven divisions examining four kingdoms: (1) Medo-Persia and Greece in 11:1-4, and (2) Egypt and Syria in 11:5-20. How these kingdoms relate to God’s people, the nation of Israel, is always the backdrop and interest of Daniel.

God Raised Up Medo-Persia and Greece According to His Plan and Purposes

DANIEL 11:1-4

Four great empires, in relation to Israel, were described in Daniel 2 and 7: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. In Daniel 8 the vision narrows the focus to two: Medo-Persia and Greece. Those same two empires are the interest of the angel at the beginning of Daniel 11. However, this time they do not get a chapter. They only get four verses.

God Supports and Protects as He Chooses (11:1-2)

Daniel 11:1 is a hinge verse that connects Chapter 10 with Chapter 11. The angel of Chapter 10 (possibly Gabriel) informs Daniel that he came on the scene “to strengthen and protect” Darius the Mede (Cyrus) in the first year of his reign (539 BC). This is two years before the vision of chapters 10–12 (cf. 10:1). This is important because that same year Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Israel. Perhaps God used Gabriel to strengthen Darius to issue the decree.

Verse 2 begins our lengthy history lesson. It also contains a divine affirmation: “Now I will tell you the truth.” Following Darius, “three more kings will arise in Persia.” History records that these three kings were Cambyses (530–522 BC), Smerdis (522 BC), and Darius I Hystapes (522–486 BC). Then a fourth will arise who is “far richer than the others.” This king will also provoke Greece and set the stage for the rise of the Greek Empire. His name was Xerxes I (486–465 BC). He would invade Greece with a mighty army but be defeated in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. And with that we are finished with Persia. God used it to send Israel back home. It did its job. To the dustbin of history it goes. God supported and protected it to accomplish his chosen purpose.

God Breaks and Divides as He Chooses (11:3-4)

There is a 150-year gap between verses 2 and 3. What happened in that period is not important for the story God wishes to reveal in this vision. Scholars agree that the “warrior king” (ESV, “mighty king”) of verse 3 is the Greek Alexander the Great (336–323 BC). Historians have written volumes about him. God gives him one verse in this chapter! He was a powerful king who conquered the known world of his day and ruled with absolute power. He indeed did whatever he wanted. But he died at age thirty-three. So,

as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them. (v. 4)

This is precisely what happened. Alexander’s sons were murdered, and no part of his vast empire went to his descendants. As we mentioned earlier, following his death, four of his generals divided up his kingdom into four parts:

  • Cassander took Macedonia and Greece.
  • Lysimachus took Thrace and portions of Asia Minor.
  • Ptolemy took Egypt and Israel.
  • Seleucus took Syria and Mesopotamia.

However, none of these kingdoms ever came close to matching the power and strength of Alexander’s brief empire. God plucked Alexander’s kingdom up, divided it into four pieces, and gave to others as he saw fit. And with that the great Alexander is finished. He served God’s plan and purposes. Off he goes!

God Raised Up Egypt and Syria According to His Plan and Purposes

Daniel 11:5-20 [6]

Bob Fyall (Daniel, 167) provides a nice list of the cast of characters for Daniel 11:5-35:

The South (Ptolemies in Egypt)The North (Seleucids in Syria)
Ptolemy I (Soter) 323–285Seleucus I (Nicator) 312–280
Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) 285–246Antiochus I (Soter) 280–261
Ptolemy III (Euergetes) 246–221Antiochus II (Theos) 261–246
Ptolemy IV (Philopator) 221–203Seleucus II (Callinicus) 246–226
Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) 203–181Seleucus III (Ceraunus) 226–223
Ptolemy VI (Philometor) 181–145Antiochus III (Magnus) 223–187
Seleucus IV (Philopator) 187–175
Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) 175–163

In the grand scheme of world history, Egypt and Syria don’t amount to much during this period of time (ca. 323–163 BC). The more significant global power is Rome, the new “bad boy” arising in the background. However, the reason Egypt and Syria receive all the press here is because they are important in their relationship to Israel and the people of God. They will play political ping-pong with the nation of Israel for almost 175 years until the evil, antichrist-type figure Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–163 BC) comes on the scene. That is the subject of verses 20-45. Until then, ongoing civil war takes place between Egypt and Syria with Israel tragically caught in the middle.

God Gave Egypt Victory, but Its King Exalted Himself (11:5-12)

Verses 5-12 record the period of Ptolemaic or Egyptian dominance. “The king of the South” (v. 5) is a reference to Ptolemy I Soter (323–285 BC), the ruler of Egypt and a general under Alexander. “One of his commanders” alludes to Seleucus I Nicator (312/311–280 BC), who fled (in 316 BC) to Ptolemy Soter to serve under him, but later abandoned him and returned to the northern kingdom. There he greatly increased his power, eventually controlling more territory than Ptolemy. His kingdom included Babylonia, Syria, and Media, the largest of all the divisions of the Greek Empire.

Conflicts would continue between the kingdoms of the Ptolemies (Egypt) and the Seleucids (Syria). Ptolemy I died in 285 BC, and war continued under his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC), who according to tradition commissioned the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek—called the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX). Finally, Ptolemy II made a treaty of peace with the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus II Theos (261–246 BC, grandson of Seleucus) around 250 BC. Verse 6 refers to this alliance.

Berenice, Ptolemy’s daughter (“the daughter of the king of the South”), was arranged to marry Antiochus (“the king of the North”) “to seal the agreement” between the two kingdoms (v. 6). Marriages for political expediency have been going on for a long time. However, Antiochus was already married to a woman named Laodice. The former wife and woman scorned took revenge and succeeded in murdering Antiochus, Berenice, and their child. Berenice, therefore, “will not retain power.”

Verse 7 refers to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–221 BC), who succeeded his father, Philadelphus, to the throne of Egypt. In retaliation for his sister’s murder, Ptolemy III attacked Syria (“the king of the North”) with a great army. This war lasted from 246 to 241 BC. Ptolemy captured and looted the Seleucid capital of Antioch, “the fortress of the king of the North.” Ptolemy seized Syria’s “gods” and other valuables (v. 8). He also returned to Egypt with treasures, including sacred idols that had been taken by the Persian monarch Cambyses in 524 BC.

“The king of the North” is the subject of verse 9. Apparently (we have no further information) he attempted an invasion of Egypt, but the campaign was brief. He would “return to his own land.”

The Syrian king Seleucus II died in 226 BC, but his sons, Seleucus III Ceraunus (226–223 BC) and Antiochus III (the Great; 223–187 BC), continued the conflicts with the Ptolemies (v. 10). Seleucus III was murdered after a brief three-year reign, and his brother Antiochus III came to power. He was called “the Great” because of his military successes, and in 219–218 BC he campaigned in Phoenicia and Palestine, part of the Ptolemaic Empire (“as far as [the king of the South’s] fortress”).

In response, the “infuriated” (v. 11) Ptolemy IV Philopater (221–203 BC) launched a counterattack. Ptolemy would win a great victory over Antiochus and the Syrians at Raphia (in Palestine) in 217 BC. Because of this victory, Ptolemy “will become arrogant” (v. 12). The Egyptian army slaughtered “tens of thousands” of the Syrian troops in the battle, though the Ptolemaic triumph would not continue.

The text implies in verse 11 that God gave the king of the South, Egypt, its victory. However, as the human heart is so easily inclined to do, the Egyptian king became “arrogant,” and his heart was “exalted” (v. 12 ESV). He became proud, and we all know how God deals with proud men and women!

God Gave Syria Victory, but Its King Was Willful and Insolent (11:13-20)

Verse 13 and following change direction and describe the period of Seleucid supremacy. Approximately fifteen years after the Egyptians slaughtered the Syrians (202 BC), Antiochus III again invaded Ptolemaic territories with a huge army (v. 13). The occasion for this invasion was the death of Ptolemy IV in 203 BC and the crowning of his four- to six-year-old son, Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203–181 BC), as the new Egyptian ruler.

Among those who “will rise up against the king of the South” (v. 14) were Philip V of Macedon and revolutionaries within Egypt. There were also “violent ones among [Daniel’s] own people,” which here refers to those Jews who aided Antiochus. These Israelites “will assert themselves” against Egypt “to fulfill a vision,” possibly the prophecy recorded here. The fulfillment of the prediction was not the intention of these persons, but it was nevertheless the result. “But [those who sided with Antiochus] will fail.” Their defeat came at the hands of the Egyptian General Scopas, who was himself eventually defeated. Antiochus III’s Syrian forces advanced against Egypt at the Battle of Panium (now called Banian, near the area of the Caesarea Philippi mentioned in the Gospels) in 199 BC and won a resounding victory (v. 15). They pursued the Egyptians south and captured Sidon, the “well-fortified city,” where General Scopas finally surrendered in 198 BC. The South had suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of the North.

With the defeat of the Egyptians at Sidon, Antiochus acquired complete control over Phoenicia and Palestine, and he “will do whatever he wants” (v. 16). Indeed “no one can oppose him.” Although Palestine had come under Antiochus’s control for a brief time previously (ca. 219–217 BC), it would now become a permanent possession of the Syrian Empire. The phrase “with total destruction in his hand” emphasizes Antiochus III’s complete power over the “beautiful land” (cf. 8:9; Ezek 20:6). David Helm reminds us,

Earlier in Daniel we came across the phrase “the glorious [beautiful] land” (8:9) and we will see it again in this chapter (11:41). In both instances it refers to Israel, to Jerusalem and the city of God. (Daniel for You, 192)

This is important because it sets the stage for the reign of terror to follow under the Syrian Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC).

The Syrians forced terms of peace on the Egyptian king (v. 17). To seal the deal, Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra (not the Cleopatra who married Mark Antony over a hundred years later) to Ptolemy V as a wife. Antiochus hoped that through Cleopatra he could gain further control of Egypt. However, his plan did not succeed. Cleopatra loved her husband more than her father and supported the Egyptian cause completely.

Verses 18-19 prophesy Antiochus’s defeat and ignominious end. Having defeated the Egyptians in 197 BC or shortly thereafter, Antiochus turned “his attention to the coasts and islands,” or countries around the Mediterranean. After Antiochus had some initial success, Lucius Cornelius Scipio was sent against him by the Roman government. This is the commander who “will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.” In 191 BC the Romans, fighting with their Greek allies, routed the Syrians at Thermopylae and forced them to withdraw from Greece and flee to Asia Minor. Thirty thousand Roman troops pursued Antiochus into Asia and defeated his much larger army of seventy thousand at the Battle of Magnesia near Smyrna (Turkey) in 190 BC. After this humiliating defeat, Antiochus returned to his country, where he was killed by an angry mob in 187 BC as he sought to pillage the temple of Zeus (Bel) at Elymais (11:19). He indeed stumbled, fell, and was no more.

The son and successor of Antiochus III was Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 BC), who sent a “tax collector” (Heliodorus) to collect money to pay the thousand-talent indemnity demanded annually by the Romans as part of the settlement for Syria’s surrender to Rome (v. 20). Seleucus IV reigned only a few years and was not killed by an angry mob (“in anger”) like his father or “in battle.” Heliodorus, his tax collector and prime minister, evidently seeking to gain the throne for himself, poisoned the king (possibly aided by Antiochus IV).

The stage is set for the antichrist figure Antiochus IV Epiphanes in verses 21-35. History has unfolded just as God said it would. Kingdoms and their despots come and go. They live and die. They win and lose. And our great God in heaven watches it all and laughs (Ps 2:4)!

Conclusion

This is an unusual and unique passage to be sure. God is never mentioned by name, and there is a lot of unfamiliar imagery for our Western twenty-first-century minds to grasp. Asking five basic theological and practical questions (which we should ask in some manner of every text) can help us get at what God wants us to understand from this portion of the Bible that he inspired.

What Does This Text Teach Us about God?

Our God is sovereign and omniscient, knowing the future to the smallest detail. He can predict the future with pinpoint accuracy. Back in Daniel 4:17 we were taught, “The Most High is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives [them] to anyone he wants and sets the lowliest of people over [them].” He is the one breaking and dividing and uprooting in Chapter 11, verse 4. These earthly rulers are mere pawns in the sovereign hands of an omnipotent and providential God.

What Does This Text Teach Us about Fallen Humanity?

Man in his depravity, pride, and sin has a bloodlust for power and possessions. He fights and wars, doing “whatever he wants” if he can. Might makes right. Man exalts his heart and inflates his sense of self-worth. Given the opportunity, he will trample over others with little or no regard for those who get hurt in the process. This is the story of human history since the fall, and it will continue to be our legacy until the return of God’s King and the inauguration of his kingdom.

What Does This Text Teach Us about Christ?

This passage and the one that follows (11:21-45) must be read in the context of Daniel 7:13-14 and 9:24-27. There we see the Son of Man coming in glory to receive from the Ancient of Days a kingdom that will not pass away or ever be destroyed. His kingdom is not a fly-by-night empire that is here today and gone tomorrow, an empire and kingdom that is little more than dust in the wind! Further, the anointed ruler of Daniel 9 does what no piddly, earthly potentate can do. He brings rebellion to an end, puts a stop to sin, wipes away iniquity, and brings in everlasting righteousness. What a contrast are these power hungry dictators with the humble King from Galilee who put the needs of others far ahead of his own.

What Does God Want Me to Know?

In Christ pride gives way to humility, and wanting more and more gives way to giving and serving others. A passion to build my kingdom gives way to a passion to build God’s kingdom!

What Does God Want Me to Do?

Learn from the mistakes and sins of men and women from the past who pursued earthly gain and not heavenly reward. Avoid the pitfalls of pride and greed; instead, pursue Christ and his traits of humility, generosity, and service. You won’t act, look, or live like the kings of Daniel 11. You will, however, begin to look and live more and more like the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Reflect and Discuss

  1. How does the Bible show God’s relationship to history? How does this differ from the naturalistic view of history?
  2. Do you think passages like this are suitable for preaching and teaching in the local church? Why or why not?
  3. Why do some liberal scholars believe this passage was recorded in the second century BC? What assumptions and presuppositions lead them to that conclusion?
  4. Why does God sometimes uphold evil empires?
  5. Identify the major nations described in this chapter. What is the fate of each of them?
  6. Identify each of the major individuals in this chapter. What is the fate of each of them?
  7. Reflect on the five theological application questions we should ask of every text. Write your own answers to each of them.
  8. Read Daniel 11 in the context of Daniel 10 and 12. How does it fit into the vision as a whole?
  9. Discuss the striking contrast of the kingdom of God in Daniel 7 with the kingdoms of man in Daniel 10.
  10. Why does God raise up evil kingdoms? How does this help us get a biblical perspective when it happens in our own day?