Daniel 11:36

36 "Then the king will do {as he pleases}, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things {against} [the] God of gods, yet he will succeed until [the period] of anger is finished, for [what] is determined will be done.

Daniel 11:36 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 11:36

And the king shall do according to his will
Not Antiochus, for he could not do as he would, being curbed by the Romans, as has been observed; and there are many things which follow that cannot be applied to him; rather the Roman people, under the name of a king or kingdom, rising up to universal monarchy, upon the decline of the Grecian empire, are meant; and who did what they would, subdued kingdoms at pleasure, and gave laws to the whole world; and particularly in the little horn, or Rome Papal, antichrist, ( Daniel 7:8 Daniel 7:20 Daniel 7:24 Daniel 7:25 ) , of which Antiochus was a type, and is called by the same name, ( Daniel 8:9 ) and the transition is easy from the type to the antitype, with whom everything said agrees: for the pope of Rome, claiming infallibility, does, or has done, whatsoever he pleases; regarding neither the laws of God nor man, but dispensing with both at his pleasure; coining new doctrines; appointing new ordinances; setting himself up above councils and princes; taking upon him a power to depose kings and set them up as he pleases; with many other things done by him in an arbitrary and despotic way, both civil and religious; and with none does the character agree as with him, as well as what follows: and magnify himself above every god;
that is so called, whether angels whom he commands, or the kings of the earth he claims an authority over, those gods in heaven, and gods on earth; which is the exact description of antichrist, as given by the apostle, who has manifestly a reference to this passage, (See Gill on 2 Thessalonians 2:4), and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods;
the true God, to whom angels and civil magistrates are subject, being his creatures, and acting under him; but such is the arrogance of the man of sin, that he takes upon him to speak against God, and such things as are astonishing; and it may be extremely wondered at that he should dare to speak them, as to call himself God on earth; to take such things to himself, which only belong to God, as by claiming all power in heaven, earth, and hell; power to bind the consciences of men, and impose what he pleases on them; to make new articles of faith; to pardon the sins of men; to open and shut the gates of heaven when he pleases; with other blasphemies against God, his mouth, given him to speak, utters; see ( Revelation 13:5 Revelation 13:6 ) : and shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished;
the wrath of God upon the Jewish nation for their rejection of the Messiah; until the time of their conversion is come; and then antichrist shall be destroyed, to make way for it; till that time he shall prosper and flourish, more or less, until the 1260 days or years are ended, the date of his reign, ( Revelation 11:2 Revelation 11:3 ) ( 13:5 ) : for that that is determined shall be done;
all the decrees and purposes of God shall be accomplished; all respecting the state and condition of the people of God under antichrist, particularly the people of the Jews, and concerning the reign and ruin of antichrist.

Daniel 11:36 In-Context

34 And {when they fall} they will receive little help, and many will join with them [in] hypocrisy.

35 And [even] some of those {who have insight} will fall [in order for] them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of [the] end, for the appointed time [is] still to come.

36 "Then the king will do {as he pleases}, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things {against} [the] God of gods, yet he will succeed until [the period] of anger is finished, for [what] is determined will be done.

37 He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to [the] darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all [gods].

38 But {instead} he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor [him] with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "as his pleasure"
• [b] Literally "over"