Here appears the Ptolemaic dynasty, king of the south (Ptolemy I Soter 323-285), and the Sethic dynasty, king of the north (Sethicus I Nicator 312-280, his successor was Antiochus I Antiochus I Soter 280-261), with the king of the north being stronger.
[This statement follows immediately above, the first half of the sentence speaking briefly of the king of the south, and the second half of the sentence referring to the king of the north, both of whom were among Alexander's generals.]
Dan 11:6, And after some years they shall be joined to one another, and the daughter of the king of the south shall make a covenant with the king of the north: but the power of the woman's help shall not endure, neither the king, nor the power of the king's help; and the woman, and the one that guided her, and the one that begat her, and the one that supported her at that time, shall be delivered unto death.
The king of the north, Syria, and the king of the south, Egypt, are here said to have joined with each other in a treaty of peace. Ptolemy II of Egypt (Philadelphus 285-246) gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus II of the North (Theos 261-246), and thus concluded a treaty of peace, so that there was a temporary period of peace between the king of the North and the king of the South. This Antiochus II divorced his former wife (Laodicea), erased her son from the family tree, and married an Egyptian princess, so that there was a temporary peace between the two countries. But the Bible says such a peace did not last long.
What does the Bible say next? Isn't it past history that when Ptolemy II, the king of the south, was weakened and died, Antiochus II, the king of the north, divorced the princess of Egypt and brought back his former wife? Soon after, this original wife took revenge on her husband by poisoning Antiochus II, who had deserted her, and putting her own son on the throne (Sethigus II Galenicus 246-227).
Dan 11:7-8, But another son of this woman's own house shall continue on the throne, and he shall lead an army into the safeguard of the kings of the north, and shall attack them, and shall be victorious; and he shall plunder their idols and their cast idols, with treasures of silver and gold, and shall carry them away to Egypt. For a few years he will not attack the kings of the north.
The brother of Belis in Egypt (Ptolemy III Euergetes 246-221), in order to avenge the death of his sister, led an army against the king of the north, and was victorious. That is, the king of the south, Egypt, won over the king of the north, Syria, and plundered many treasures of gold and silver and brought many silver and gold statues to Egypt.
But in 11:9-11, the king of the north shall enter the kingdom of the king of the south, but shall return still to his native land. And the two sons of the king of the north shall be moved, and shall gather together many armies: and these armies shall go forth as a flood, and shall go forth again to war, until the king of the south shall be secured. And the king of the south shall be angry, and shall come forth to make war with the king of the north, and shall set forth a great army: and the army of the king of the north shall be delivered into his hand.
Afterward the kingdom of Syria, though it continued to counterattack, could not prevail in the end. [Sethigus III (227-223), son of Sethigus II, and Antiochus III (223-187) fought against Egypt, but Ptolemy IV (Philopator 221-203) defeated Syria].
Dan 11:12, And the multitude of his army shall be haughty, and his heart shall be exalted; and though he make tens of thousands of men to fall, he shall not always prevail.
"He" refers to the king of Egypt, who, after defeating the king of the north, became high-minded; and it is also said that he will persecute the Jews, and massacre them because they do not worship the idols of Egypt; and though he makes tens of thousands fall, he shall not always triumph.
Dan 11:13-14, And the king of the north shall return and set forth a great army, more than before, to the fullness of the number of years appointed: and he shall come with a great army, and with exceeding great numbers of armor. At that time many shall rise up against the king of the south. And the strong and violent men of thy country shall rise up, and shall fulfill the vision, but they shall be defeated.
[Later, when Ptolemy V (Epiphanes 203-181) came to the throne, Antiochus III again prepared a large army to attack Egypt. But the Romans defeated him, and the Syrian dynasty declined greatly. After Rome had annexed Syria, it again began to attack Egypt]. This history of repeated battles is recorded in the Bible rather briefly, only giving an outline of the historical development.
In the history of the repeated wars between the kings of the North and the South, sandwiched between the two were the Jews of Palestine, who suffered greatly. [After Palestine was freed from Syrian or Egyptian rule, and before it was occupied by Rome, there was a period of relative independence due to the Jewish revolt led by the Maccabees. This is what the second half of verse 14 is about].
What the above tells us is that after Medo-Persia came Greece; and how Greece split into two dynasties, into a northern king and a southern king; and how in the battle between the southern and northern kings, Egypt prevailed. After that, there was the Roman Empire, and Syria was annexed by Rome and became subordinate to Rome. So, next begins the history of Rome and Egypt at war.
Rome and Egypt
Syria, the king of the north, was subdued by Rome, thus Rome became the king of the north. [After the Roman army defeated the king of Macedonia at the battle of Pydna in 168 B.C., the power of Rome was firmly established.] Beginning in verse 15, the rise of the Roman Empire is introduced. This prophecy had long ago given a prior revelation of the future history of the world.
Dan 11:15-16, And the king of the north shall come and build strongholds, and take fortified cities: and the armies and soldiers of the south shall not be able to stand, even the best of the chosen shall not be able to stand. Those who come against him shall walk at will, and no one shall stand before the king of the north. He shall stand in the land of glory and beauty, and shall execute destruction with his hand.
This is a record of the Roman conquest and persecution of the kingdom of Judah through General Pompey at one time (63 B.C.). ［The "glorious land" here refers to Palestine in Old Testament times.]
Verses 17 through 24 show us how Rome grew stronger as an empire. The king of the north had been Syria, and then Rome became king of the north. After Rome took control of Judea, the Bible goes on to record in detail how Rome fought against Egypt, the king of the south. Then it tells how the papacy rose and took the place of the pagan Roman king of the north.
But in Dan 11:17 he must have intended to come with all the power of the nation, and to make a just covenant, and to do according to it, and to give his own daughter to the king of the south as a wife, that he might corrupt him; but the plan shall not come to pass, and it shall be of no profit to himself.
[The Chinese translation of this verse is erroneous, according to the expression of the Strongs translation, and directly translated, it is thus:
Also He will set his face to go in with the strength of whole his kingdom, and upright ones with him. And the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it. But not she will stand, nor for him be. [strongs]
He will surely set his face to go in with the strength of the whole his kingdom, and upright ones with him. and the righteous with him. He will do so. And (Egypt) shall give him the daughter of the woman to spoil it. But she will neither stand nor belong to him].
Do you know what this means? These are very striking words, and here is a brief prophecy of the involvement between [Egypt's last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty] Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.) and the Roman commander-in-chief. Julius Caesar, who founded the Roman state, conquered Syria in the East and went on to attack Egypt.
By this time Ptolemy XII of Egypt was dead (51 B.C.), and at the time of his death he gave the country to his son and the princess Cleopatra to **** together in power. But Cleopatra's brother [Ptolemy XIII] tried to find a way to rule alone, much to Cleopatra's anger. [She was banished and fled to Syria in 48 B.C.]
It was at this time that the Roman general Julius Caesar attacked Egypt, and when he saw that Egypt was in a state of severe civil strife, he went about the work of conquering Egypt by relieving the civil strife and not calling them to strife. At this time Cleopatra saw General Caesar and had a plan in her mind, "If I unite with this general, I can be the one to rule Egypt," and she had such a plan. This is very famous story.
So one night she commanded one of her servants, who was a strong man, to put her into a chest, and then this servant carried this chest over his shoulder to Caesar's house, and laid it down and said, "We have sent you a present." When no one was about, Cleopatra came out of this chest. Caesar was completely mesmerized by her sultriness and eloquence. In this way Cleopatra befriended Caesar and secretly took control of his heart. [She returned to power with the support of Caesar, the Roman commander-in-chief, and became the sole queen of Egypt. What happened afterward? She married the Roman general Antony again,] and she tried to conquer Rome with her beauty, but here the Bible briefly prophesied that she would still fail. Isn't that interesting?
Dan 11:18-19, After that he shall turn back and take many islands of the sea. But there is a great commander, who removes the shame which he has brought upon him, and brings it upon himself. Then he shall turn to the local security, but he shall stumble and fall, and come to nothing.
After this, it is said here that Rome will conquer many of the islands of Africa, and this is indeed clearly fulfilled in history. Caesar had to return to his country, and what happened when he did? Caesar returned to become dictator, but was soon assassinated by a cabal led by M.J. Brutus (44 BC), and he "stumbled and fell to nothing".
After the death of Julius Caesar, Octavian and Antony formed a rivalry. [In 40 B.C., Antony gained dominion over the eastern provinces of Rome, and in 37 B.C. married Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, claiming to have gifted the queen and her son some of Rome's eastern territories, and in 32 B.C. the Senate declared war on him]. In 31 BC, Antony was defeated by Octavian in the naval battle of Aksin with the Queen of Egypt and fled back to Egypt. The following year, he committed suicide out of despair. Cleopatra is said to have committed suicide in quick succession, and some say she died from the bite of a poisonous snake. In this world power and beauty shall pass away, but he who does the will of God shall live forever, as we can see from history!
Dan 11:20 Then a man shall arise to succeed him as king, and shall make the transgressors pass through the glorious land of the kingdom. And this king shall perish in a few days, but not in wrath, nor in battle.
[In 31 BC, Octavian defeated Antony and the Queen of Egypt at the Battle of Archean, Egypt was incorporated into Rome, and in 27 BC, the Senate granted Octavian the title of "Augustus", and Rome entered the age of empire].
The reference to the rise of Caesar's successor is to the Emperor Augustus (Octavian - 14 A.D.), who instituted a system of taxation of the whole country. Wasn't it during the time of Augustus that Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem in order to enroll in the rolls, and it was there that Jesus was born?
But in Dan 11:21, there shall rise up a vile man to succeed him as king, to whom men have not given the honor of the kingdom, but who, while they were frank and unprepared, gained the kingdom by flatteries.
This vile man who arose was the emperor Tiberius (14-37 A.D.). Augustus had tried to keep Tiberius from succeeding to the throne because he was despicable. But eventually he succeeded to the throne.
Dan 11:22, And innumerable armies and armies shall be as a flood of water, and shall be destroyed before him, and so shall the kings of the allies be.
Who is the "prince of the allies" who was also victimized by the Roman emperor, as predicted here? The English expression is the prince of the covenant, which means "the prince of the covenant", "the prince of the covenant", which refers to Jesus Christ. Jesus was also forced by the Roman power and was crucified under the iron nails of Rome.
Dan 11:23-24, And after he has made an alliance with that king, he will practise deceit, for he will come up and become strong with a small army. And while men are frankly unprepared, he shall come to the very fatness of the country, and shall do that which his fathers and the fathers of his fathers have not done, and shall scatter captivity and plunder and treasure among all the people, and shall devise assaults to secure it: yet all this shall be for a time.
The Chinese translation of verse 23 is incorrect; it is not "join themselves to him," but according to the expression in the Strongs translation, which translates it directly, it is this: And after they join themselves to him, he will practice deceit. [strongs] And after they join themselves to him, he will practice deceit.
The meaning of these two verses is: The Roman state became a great and powerful nation by joining with many small nations; and by joining with those small nations and bringing them all to himself, [setting up provinces one after another over a wide area to rule], the Roman state became a powerful nation.
Verse 24 says, "This is all temporary," which in English is for a time, i.e., a year (Dan 7:25, 4:16). What is a year in prophecy, 360 days, or 360 years? Here it is prophesied that the Roman Empire will be strong for 360 years.
The victory at the Battle of Achsin in 31 B.C. became the beginning of the Roman Empire, and the Western Roman Empire was strong for 360 years until Emperor Constantine moved the capital in 330 A.D., after which it began to decline. The Bible prophecy that it would rule for "one year", which according to the interpretation of Bible prophecy is 360 years, was its "period", and the prophecy was fulfilled.
Roman Civil War and Capital Removal
[From verse 15 to verse 24, the process of conquest and establishment of the Roman Empire is told, and finally its 360-year reign is prophesied. After the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius, until 117 A.D., Tullaghim brought the empire to its greatest extent. Then came the latter part of the empire's history, a general crisis and political chaos. 284-305 saw Diocletian gain power in the empire, which he temporarily strengthened by brutally suppressing revolts, persecuting Christians, and fighting aggressively against the outside world. After his abdication, the empire fell back into strife].
Dan 11:25-29, And he shall go forth with valor, and shall lead a great army against the king of the south, and the king of the south shall fight against him with a great and very strong army, but shall not be able to stand, because a plot is devised against the king of the south. And he that eateth the king's bread shall corrupt him: and his army shall be overrun, and many shall be slain. But as for these two kings, they have evil designs in their hearts, and they lie together: but their designs are not accomplished: for at the appointed time it shall be done. And the king of the north shall return to his country with much treasure: his heart is against the covenant, and he walketh at will, and returneth unto his own land. And at a certain time he shall return, and come to the south; and the latter time shall not be as the former,
[305 Constantine's father became emperor of the western part of the empire, and after his father's death he was installed by the army as king in Britain. In order to use Christianity to consolidate his rule, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, together with the ruler of the east, Licinius***, recognizing the legitimacy of Christianity, which gradually became an important pillar of the empire. 324, Constantine, in turn, defeated Licinius, and re-united the empire. 325 he hosted a Christian bishops' conference in Nicaea, which was held on the same day. In 325 he presided over the Synod of Christian Bishops in Nicaea, which marked the beginning of the imperial regime's control over the national church. 330 he moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople.
The kings of the north and the south were, first, the Sethic and Ptolemaic dynasties, i.e., Syria and Egypt; then Rome conquered Syria, and the king of the north changed places to Rome, while the king of the south remained Egypt; then Rome defeated Egypt, and in the latter part of the Roman Empire, the battle between the king of the north and the king of the south became a civil war in the empire.
This prophecy in verses 25-29 is closely related to the period and events of Constantine, ending with the move of the capital from Rome to Constantinople, "for it came to pass at a regular time." verse 28, the king of the north "returned to his own country" " Returning to his own country" refers to Constantine's move of the capital to Constantinople.
Verse 29, "When the time comes, he shall return, and come to the south, and the latter time shall not be as the former, or as the latter", the Chinese translation of the latter half of the sentence is wrong. The Chinese translation of the latter part of the sentence is wrong, the English is "but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter", it should be: when the time comes, he shall return and come to the south, but it shall not be as the former nor as the latter. What does this mean? After the removal of the capital from Rome, on the one hand, the Eastern Roman Empire was formed, and on the other hand, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the papacy rose to power; and the Eastern Rome formed after the removal of the capital was neither like the former Roman Empire, nor like the subsequent papal Rome. How exact are the prophecies of Scripture!"]
From Pagan Rome to Papal Rome
Dan 11:30, For the ships of war of Kittite shall come against him, and he shall return bereft of courage, and shall be vexed with the covenant, and shall walk at will: and he shall return and contact them that have forsaken the covenant.
"And the ships of Kittite war shall come against him," and so began the fall of Western Rome; the barbarians kept attacking him, and the Roman Empire was about to fall.
Here it says, "And he will hate the covenant, and will do as he pleases," and verse 28 also says, "His heart is against the covenant, and he will do as he pleases," which refers to the Lord's covenant, God's truth, and God's commandments. [For two hundred years pagan Rome had persecuted emerging Christianity, and then Constantine ostensibly made Christianity the state religion, but in essence, through the union of politics with the church and the church with paganism, "opposed the covenant and walked at will."]
"He will return and contact those who forsake the covenant," which means that they are looking at and contacting the leaders in the Roman church - those who do not follow the Word of God, who do not keep God's commandments, who do not walk according to the true spirit of Christianity, who are in conflict with political compromises and coveted money and power. As a result, the apostate Roman Church, when the Roman Empire was under attack, took advantage of the opportunity to inherit the capital, power and pagan system of the Roman Empire.
Dan 11:31, And he shall raise up an army, and this army shall profane the holy place, which is the safeguard. Remove the burnt offering that is always offered, and set up that which does the destruction of the abomination.
The armies of Rome were on the side of the Roman Church, and the forces of Clovis, King of France, who had converted to Catholicism, all came together to help the Roman Church, to establish the power of the Papacy, and to "set up that which destroyeth and abominateth". Daniel kept proving that this "abomination of desolation" was the power of the little horn, the papacy.
Verses 30 and 31 speak of the move from pagan Rome to papal Rome. When the Roman Empire was under attack, it went out to contact apostate Romanism, so that the Pope grew in power and made him the head who could execute all kinds of heretics and the leader of the Christian Church throughout the world, and eventually the Papacy inherited the capital of the Roman Empire, its power, and its paganism.
The battle between the king of the north and the king of the south, first between the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt, followed by the rise of pagan Rome, and then, in the order of prophecy, the rise of papal Rome. This passage is intended to show us the course of history, from the kings of Medo-Persia, Daliu and Goliath, and how the various nations and dynasties came into being, and how they evolved, until the rise of Pope Rome, and how he would persecute God's people, and how he would trample on the Sanctuary and God's law, and how he would bring about destruction.
The power of this little horn has already been spoken of in chapters 7 and 8, but here is a more detailed account of how the power of this little horn, the papacy, arose and appeared in the course of history. First came pagan Rome, and then to emerge was papal Rome, and it is around this focus that chapter 11 is recorded.
Papacy in the Middle Ages
Dan 11:32, He that doeth evil against the covenant, he shall seduce with deceitful words: but the people that know God shall be strong in their ways.
What is being said here about the works of the Papacy is very similar to the words of chapter 8:24-25, "able to destroy many with double entendres ...... and with power to accomplish wiles in his hands ......." It's very similar; but in that case, there are still true people who do not succumb to the threat of papal power, but are faithful to God, i.e., there is a hint here that a Reformation movement is about to rise up.
Dan 11:33, And the wise men of the people shall teach many: yet many days shall they fall by the sword, or be burned with fire, or taken captive and plundered.
How many faithful to the truth have fallen by the sword, or have been burned with fire, or have been taken captive and plundered, and how many tens of millions have been martyred under the persecution of the Papacy. This is an illustration of the persecution of the Papacy.
Dan 11:34-35 And when they were fallen, they were helped a little, but many drew near to them with flatteries. And some of the wise men fell on their faces, in order to refine the rest, and to make them pure and clean until the end; for at the appointed time it will be finished.
The Papacy ruled brutally, but there was a "time" for it. The Papacy ruled for 1260 years and practiced persecution, but the Bible tells us that there was a time for their power. We see this explained in more detail here, based on the prophecies of chapters 7 and 8.
Dan 11:36, And the king shall act arbitrarily, and shall exalt himself above all gods, and shall assail the God of gods with strange words. And he shall act prosperously until the wrath of the Lord is finished, for the thing ordained shall surely come to pass.
This verse is similar to the words of 8:23-25, "And a king shall arise ...... and things shall go well with him, and he shall walk at will ...... and exalt himself... . attacking the King of kings, but in the end he will perish not by the hand of man." Such wickedness is also mentioned within Revelation 13, and Daniel 7 has already prophesied beforehand that he exalts himself, does blasphemy, speaks boastfully, and resists God, who? The papacy in Rome!
Though the Lord has allowed him to do as he pleases and to rule for 1260 years, ultimately that period of time, that end time, will surely come.
Dan 11:37-38 And he shall not regard the God of his fathers, nor the God of the women's envy, whatsoever gods he may have, for he shall be arrogant and exalted above all. Instead, he will worship the gods of security, and honor with gold, silver, precious stones, and lovely things the gods whom his fathers did not know.
What does the Roman papacy value more than the Word of God? The power of the state, gold, silver and treasure. What do they value more than obedience to the truth? The power of authority, the power of the union of church and state, position, wealth, and the adherence of the multitudes.
[And the papacy inherited the pagan system and put on the garb of Christianity. By "guaranteed God" we mean the pagan idol and goddess worship transformed into the Catholic cult of the Virgin Mary.]
Dan 11:39, He shall break through the strongest safeguard by the help of the Gentile gods. And whosoever shall acknowledge him, to them shall he add glory, and give them dominion over many, and divide the land with them for a bribe.
[The translation of this verse is faulty, and according to the literal meaning of the original Hebrew text, it is to the effect that he will offer up a Gentile god in the fortified city of the safeguard, and he will acknowledge it and add glory to it, and in this way he will have dominion over many, and the nations will have a share in it.
Verse 38 speaks of the papal power to worship Mary, and to honor her with gold, silver, precious stones, and lovely things, and next verse 39 goes on to speak of the offerings made to this foreign god, that is to say, the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the apparitions of Mary, and the influence of such a thing will be increasing.]
In summary, from Medo-Persia to Greece; from Greece to the Four Kings; after Alexander's death, the Greek empire split into four kingdoms; the four kingdoms later became the King of the North and the King of the South; after that, Rome became the King of the North, and Rome conquered Syria, then attacked Egypt, and became an empire; for 360 years, Western Rome was very strong, and then went into decline with the move of the capital to Constantinople in the East; in its place, the Roman army and the Frankish kingdom became the empire; the Roman army and the Frankish kingdom became the empire. The Roman army and the Frankish kingdom helped the bishops of the Roman Church to establish the power of the papacy; the papacy trampled on the truth and persecuted the Reformers to the fullest extent; the power of the popes was not the power of God, but their preference was for gold, silver, precious stones, and the gods of the Gentile nations, and thus began the history of the fall of the Church. ...... Daniel chapter 11 is an account of these things. Chapter 11 is a very detailed description of all this.