Understanding Daniel 11: Empires, Conflicts, and End Times

Daniel 11

1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

2 And now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

6 And in the end of years 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: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:

8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.

9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

12 And when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.

13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.

14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

16 But he that comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.

18 After this shall he turn his face to the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn on him.

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

20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken; yes, also the prince of the covenant.

23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

24 He shall enter peaceably even on the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yes, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

25 And 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 forecast devices against him.

26 Yes, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

27 And both of these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall join to them with flatteries.

35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

38 But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also on the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Daniel 11 provides a literal, detailed history of the world's great empires from the time of the Persian kings down to the end of the world and the resurrection of the deadBEST June 8, 1896, page 171.7+1. This chapter is unique because it consists entirely of the words of the angel Gabriel, who stood to reveal the "scripture of truth" to Daniel Daniel 11:1-2BEST June 8, 1896, page 171.7.

The Persian and Greek Empires 🌍

The prophecy begins with the remaining history of the Persian Empire, noting that after Darius the Mede, three more kings would stand up in Persia, followed by a fourth who would be far richer and stir up all against the realm of Greece Daniel 11:2BEST June 8, 1896, page 171.7. This fourth king was Xerxes, who famously led a massive army across the HellespontBEST June 8, 1896, page 171.7. Following this, a "mighty king" would stand up—Alexander the Great—whose kingdom would eventually be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven among others, rather than his own posterity Daniel 11:3-4GCB/GCDB 1893, page 91.1.

The Kings of the North and South ⚔️

The middle portion of the chapter describes the long-standing conflicts between the "king of the north" and the "king of the south" Daniel 11:5-15ARSH December 12, 1854, page 134.18.

• The King of the South: Geographically, this refers to Egypt Daniel 11:8.

• The King of the North: This role is occupied by whichever power holds supreme control over Syria at any given timeARSH December 12, 1854, page 134.18.

• Historical Transitions: The prophecy details intricate political alliances, marriages like that of the daughter of the king of the south, and various military campaigns that occupied these dynasties Daniel 11:6-13ARSH December 12, 1854, page 134.18.

The Rise of Rome and the Papacy 🏛️

The transition to the fourth universal empire, Rome, is marked by the "robbers of thy people" exalting themselves to establish the vision Daniel 11:14DAR1909 257.1.

• Pagan Rome: Arms stand on the part of this power to pollute the sanctuary of strength and take away the "daily," which represents paganism Daniel 11:31LJL 42.1+1.

• The Papacy: Following the removal of the daily sacrifice in AD 508, the "abomination that maketh desolate"—the papacy—was set up Daniel 11:31LJL 42.1+1.

• Period of Supremacy: This power would speak marvelous things against the God of gods and prosper for a designated time, specifically the 1260 years of papal political supremacy that began in AD 538 and ended in 1798 Daniel 11:33-36EVRR344+1.

The Time of the End and Final Events 🎺

The concluding verses of the chapter bring us into the "time of the end," a period beginning in 1798 Daniel 11:40SITI November 10, 1887, page 681.2+1.

• Closing Conflicts: The king of the south pushes at the northern power, and the king of the north comes against him like a whirlwind with many ships and chariots Daniel 11:40.

• The Glorious Land: This power enters the "glorious land" and stretches its hand over many countries, including Egypt Daniel 11:41-42.

• The End of the World: Finally, this power plants the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, yet he comes to his end with none to help him Daniel 11:45. This leads directly into the standing up of Michael, the great prince, signaling a time of trouble and the ultimate deliverance of God's people Daniel 12:1MPC 74.2+1.

The light Daniel received was given especially for these last days, and these events are now in the process of final fulfillmentLDE 15.3+1. 🌈

Certainly! Here is a summary of the historical events outlined in Daniel 11-12 presented as a chart to help visualize the flow of prophecy Daniel 11:1+1 📈.

Prophetic Period / Event	Historical Fulfillment	Bible & Source References
Persian Empire	Four kings stood up in Persia, ending with Xerxes who stirred up the realm against Greece Daniel 11:2BEST June 8, 1896, page 171.7.	Daniel 11:2
Greek Empire	Alexander the Great arose as a mighty king before his kingdom was divided toward the four winds Daniel 11:3-4.	Daniel 11:3-4
North vs. South	Ongoing conflicts occurred between the Syrian (North) and Egyptian (South) dynasties Daniel 11:5-13ARSH December 12, 1854, page 134.18.	Daniel 11:5-15
Rise of Rome	Rome established the vision by entering the "glorious land" and becoming the dominant world power Daniel 11:14-16DAR1909 257.1.	Daniel 11:14-16
Removal of the "Daily"	Paganism, referred to as the "daily," was taken away in AD 508 to make way for the papal powerLJL 42.1+1.	Daniel 11:31
Papal Supremacy	The papacy exercised political supremacy for 1260 years, during which the Scriptures were suppressedEVRR344+1.	Daniel 11:31-35
Time of the End	This period began in 1798 when the French government stripped the papacy of its political powerEVRR344+2.	Daniel 11:40
Final Crisis	The King of the North enters the glorious land again before coming to his ultimate end Daniel 11:41-45.	Daniel 11:40-45
Deliverance	Michael stands up to deliver everyone found written in the book during a great time of trouble Daniel 12:1MPC 74.2.	Daniel 12:1

The light given to Daniel was intended especially for those living in the last days to understand the fulfillment of God’s WordLDE 15.3+1. This detailed history shows that God is in control of the nations and will ultimately deliver those who remain faithful to HimMPC 74.2+1. 🙏