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A Bible Study:
The Revelation to John
May 30, 2006
Daniel's Prophecies
A Study of The Revelation to John
By Bernie Parsons - May 30, 2006
A Study of Daniel Chapter 11
In chapter 11, it is not necessary to try and identify each king that is mentioned with an actual name from history, though some have tried, and perhaps some have succeeded. However, there are specific things that clearly indicate that the culmination of all this warfare was the destruction of the temple, and of Jerusalem!
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 shew thee 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.”
Verses 2 & 3 clearly indicate the arrival on the scene of Alexander the Great of Macedonia (Grecia). Verse 4 mentions his four generals, who would take over the empire upon his death.
There is no need to identify all the kings and battles. Instead, note verse 31, which makes reference to something that Jesus discusses, as recorded in Matthew 24, and Mark 13.
Daniel 11:31: “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 maketh desolate.”
Compare this to what Jesus told His disciples, as recorded by Matthew and Mark.
Matthew 24:15: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”
Mark 13:14: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judǽa flee to the mountains:”
Since Jesus said that this pertained to the destruction of the temple, and since it would all occur in that generation to which He spoke, then we know that verse 31 of Daniel 11 has to do with that very thing—the destruction of Jerusalem in the time of the generation of Christ and the Apostles. This occurred in 70 AD, when the Roman general, Titus Flavius, successfully concluded the siege of Jerusalem, started by his father, Vespasian Flavius—under orders from the Jew-and-Christian-hating Emperor Nero! However, as Daniel realized, the destruction came at the hand of the Romans, but by the authority of God.
This was also discussed in:
Daniel 9:26: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
There is much discussion among modern religionists about the “abomination of desolation” mentioned by Jesus, or, as the angel told Daniel, the “abomination that maketh desolate”. Let’s look at these important words. “Abomination” means the “hated thing”, and “desolation” means utter destruction. Notice that nothing less than the desolation of the temple is under discussion. The Roman armies were going to enter the holy place of the temple, and stop the daily sacrifices. They would then destroy the temple utterly, or completely. That corroborates what Jesus discussed in:
Matthew 24:1: “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2: And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
We see then, that the “time of the end”, or the “end of the age” (in the KJV, called the “end of the world”) has to do with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Let’s skip on down to verses 40-41 of Daniel chapter 11.
Daniel 11:40: “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.”
We assume that the “glorious land” is a reference to Judǽa—for what other land would an angel from God call the “glorious land”? This glorious, or some notes say “goodly”, land is mentioned again in verse 41, while verse 45 references the “glorious holy mountain”.
To better understand the holy mountain, cross-reference this with the following two references from chapter 9:
Daniel 9:16: “O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.”
Daniel 9:20: “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;”
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