PROPHECY
OF
DANIEL
Daniel Chapter 2
The great statue
This prophecy start with the Neo-Babylonian empire and end up at the end with Jesus everlasting kingdom.
The time
First of all, in Daniel 2:28 God let us know when this prophecy will be fulfilled, verse 28: However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. Now, some will say that latter days doesn't always mean end of time and they might be right. But here it does mean it, the Hebrew word for the word latter is “a-hari”, which mean end. So it says in the end days. We are now set, this prophecy will be fulfilled at the end of time. Which mean we have to hear about the end of time at one point in the prophecy.
The dream
Daniel 2: 31-35. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a statue, the head made of gold, the breast and the arms of silver, the belly and the thighs of bronze, the legs of iron and the feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Then the king saw in his dream a stone cut out without hands striking the statue on his feet and the statue was completely destroyed and no trace of it was found. The stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
The interpretation
Daniel 2: 36-39. Verse 38: the head made of gold is Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon.
Verse 39a: After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, the silver part. The silver is the breast and the arms, in verse 32 God use 2 different parts of the body with one metal to explain the kingdom, because it is 2 kingdoms with the same culture. The 2 body parts are kingdoms and the metal is the culture. The Median kingdom and the Persian kingdom, both with the Achaemenid culture. The Median was under the control of the Persian but it never really fell. After the fall of the last Median king, Astyages, they stayed prominent in the Persian kingdom. According to historical fact, the Median stood next to the Persian.
39b: then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth, the bronze part. The bronze is the belly and the thighs, again God use 2 different parts of the body with one metal, 2 kingdoms with the same culture. Same context, the 2 body parts are kingdoms and the metal is the culture. (I read tons of different studies on this and I don't know why but that 3rd kingdom is always though as one and only one kingdom, some say the Greek some say Rome. What if it is both, take a look at the prophecy, everyone agree that the breast and the arms are 2 kingdoms because of those 2 parts of the body. So why on the 3rd kingdom, which is still 2 parts of the body, the belly and the thighs, would be just 1 kingdom.) The Greek kingdom and the Roman kingdom, both with the Hellenistic culture. The Roman empire wasn't establish before 27 BC when Augustus Ceasar became the first emperor, but they were already a growing kingdom when Alexander the Great took over the Acheamenid kingdom. The Roman were just coming out of a war with Gaul and starting to push their borders. After the fall of Alexander the Great nobody took over the Greek empire, but there were many small kingdom that the Roman conquered to built their empire. Both these kingdoms, Rome and Greek, were simultaneously growing until Rome built his empire. So the next kingdom after the Greek was the Roman kingdom, the Roman annexed Greece and adopt their Hellenistic culture in 146 BC.
Daniel 2: 40-43. The fourth kingdom, so much controversy about that kingdom, I will stick to the word and use the description that God do to determine which kingdom it is. To understand this 4th kingdom we must have some knowledge about the relation between Antiochus IV Epiphane and the Antichrist. There is some indications in the bible about Antiochus IV Epiphane being a figure of the Antichrist. This King, who lived in the 1st century BC, ran a war against the Jews. He persecuted them, kill them, made them sacrifice to others God. Why we can see that figure of the Antichrist: 1- he stop the daily sacrifice and did the abomination of desolation (he raised a statue of Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig on the hotel), God tell use in Matthew 24:15 that it will happen also at the end of time.
2-He made an alliance with some of the Jews like we can see happening at the end time in the last week of Daniel. He tried to mix the Jews with his peoples by making them live like his peoples. There is more information on the alliance of Antiochus IV in the books of Maccabees. If Antiochus IV is a figure of the Antichrist, then we can look at what happen in his time to figure out that last kingdom.
Obviously Daniel was born before Antiochus IV time, we could think it is actually talking about Antiochus IV. But we have to remember the verse 28, God already told us that this prophecy is related to the event of the end. With that in mind, if we read verse 40 to 43 we can see the description of Antichrist kingdom, with some keywords. V. 40, it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, Revelation 13:7, It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
V. 41, it will be a divided kingdom, but with the toughness of iron in it. Revelation 17:12, 10 kings will reign under the authority of the beast, so the kingdoms will be divided in 10. Here we are talking about the authority of the beast, the Devil's spirit, so the iron in these kingdoms is the devil's spirit possessing the kings. V. 42, some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. In Antiochus IV time, some of the Jews did an alliance with him, the Hellenistic Jews, and some stood strong for God, the traditionalism Jews. In the last week of Daniel, we will see it in chapter 9 study, the Antichrist will do an alliance with the Jews. Since Antiochus IV is a figure of the Antichrist and since we know there will be an alliance between Antichrist and the Jews, We can expect the story happening again, a strong side and a fragile side. V. 43, here we can clearly see the alliance, the iron mixed with common clay. It even talk about force marriage between Jews and Antichrist peoples, they will combine with one another in the seed of men. Seed of men is 2 words in Hebrew, Zera Nasa. Zera mean descendant and Nasa mean mankind. Others version of the bible says intermarriage. But even by doing this, the alliance won't stand, not adhere to one another.
The everlasting kingdom
Daniel 2:44. The stone, verse 35 tell us a lot about that stone and those kingdoms being destroy by it. It says that the kingdoms will be crushed and blow away by the wind so that not a trace of them was found. There is 2 lines of idea about this stone. The first idea is, this is Jesus resurrected at His first coming and the second idea is, this is Jesus at His second coming. Let see which one aligned with the Scripture. That stone cannot be Jesus when He resurrected after being crucified, cause He didn't crush any kingdom. The kingdom in place was Rome and the fall of Rome happen in 2 different event, the western Empire fell around 475 BC when the last emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the Germanic king Odoacer, the east Empire only fell after the death of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 BC. Verse 44 strengthened this point by saying that the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people. We Know that there is another kingdom to come, the Antichrist kingdom. So this stone that will become the everlasting kingdom has to be after the Antichrist kingdom, because if not, it would be pass to another people. The beginning of verse 44, in the days of those kings, bring some confusion for some peoples. We must consider that at the end, the Antichrist kingdoms will have 10 kings, this passage could relate to those kings.
This idea that this stone is Jesus resurrected isn't in line with the Scripture. God tell us that this vision is about the end, He also tell us that this stone will become a great mountain and filled the whole earth and last, He tell us that this stone will be an everlasting kingdom and that it will not be left to another people. So it has to be Jesus's kingdom at His second coming.
Daniel Chapter 7
The 4 beast
The prophecy in this chapter talk about 4 beast, different from each other and coming out of the sea. In the interpretation, in verse 17, it says those same beast are 4 kings which arise out of the earth. The scripture represent often nation by the word “sea”, Rev 17:15 is an example, so when it says the beasts come out of the sea it is actually nation on earth. So in verse 17 when it says out of the earth it is not contradictory.
Description of the 4 beast
-the 1st beast is like a lion with eagle wings. In Jeremiah prophecy against Israel, we learn that they will be bring to Babylon for 70 years. While Jeremiah prophecies he describe the king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar), in Jeremiah 4:7, like a lion. Also in Ezekiel 17, there is a prophecy about Babylon. In Ezekiel 17:3 there is a description of a great eagle with great wings, this is interpreted as the king of Babylon that brought Israel in Babylon in Ezekiel 17:12. Therefore, we can say that
the 1st beast is king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Plus, the story of king Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:28 is well summarize in Daniel 7:4. the wings plucked off represent the sovereignty removed and when he was lifted up from the ground with a human mind represent his humble reestablishment. His supremacy was removed from him until he humble himself and figuratively become just a man.
-the 2nd beast is like a bear raising up on 1 side. Isaiah 13 talk about the proclamation against Babylon, Isaiah 13:17 says that God will stir up Media against them, so the next kingdom after Babylon is Media. But in the vision the bear is raising on 1 side. That is because they reign with Persia like we saw in chapter 2, Persia being a greater kingdom. The side of the bear that is raising would be Persia. It also says that it has 3 ribs in his teeth, Cyrus II is the king that created the Persian empire with Media after raising himself above the Median. Cyrus II leads terrible conquest, 3 like 3 ribs. He placed under his dominion the kingdom of Lydia, the cities of Ionia and the Neo-Babylonian empire. This beast devour much flesh, as we can read in Isaiah 13: 15-19, the Chaldean will be completely destroy.
-the 3rd beast is like a leopard with 4 wings and 4 heads. Daniel 10: 20, a man appears to Daniel and revealed him that after the kingdom of Persia will be the kingdom of Greek. The 4 wings would represent the speed at which the kingdom of Greek spread out on earth with Alexander the great in command, but it is just a theory. The 4 heads represent the 4 generals who will receive the split kingdom after Alexander's death. After Alexander's death, instead of having a successor, the 4 generals of Alexander got each one of them a part of his kingdom. They were Mesopotamia, Egypt and central Asia (Anatolia and Macedon). You can verify that in Alexander the Great history, I'll talk about this a little more in chapter 11 study.
-the 4th beast is often describe as Rome, but this is not possible. In Daniel visions, God make him understand, in Daniel 7:23, that the 4th kingdom will be different from all kingdoms. In most version it says all other kingdoms, but the word “other” isn't in the original Hebrew version, it was added because it would be implied by the Scripture. If we keep the original text, will be different from all kingdoms, it can't be a kingdom that already existed, like Rome. This 4th kingdom is the kingdom of the Antichrist. Verse 7-8, This beast has ten horns, and from the middle of them a little horn will arise. Verse 8 give us a description of that horn, it possessed eyes like a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. The interpretation in verse 21 to 27 describe the story of the horn that come out of this kingdom. The ten horns are ten kings, and after them the little horn will arise, make war to the saints, overcome them, try to change the time and law and reign for a time, times and half of a time. To know about that period of time we have to refer to Rev 13:5, this chapter talk about the Antichrist and it says it will be giving to him authority for 42 months. 42 month = 3½ years, I'll come back with this explanation later in the study. So a time(1 year), timeS (2 years), and half of a time(½ year). He will rule for 3½ years. But his reign will be taken away by the Ancient of Days (God), the kingdom will be given to the saints and this kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom. This description is the story of the Antichrist, and the everlasting kingdom is the kingdom of Jesus that will last forever. So the 4th kingdom must be the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Vision of the judgment & the coming
Daniel 7:9-14 are 3 different visions presented to Daniel. The 3 different visions all start with a marker, in the NKJV it's I WATCH and in the NASB it's I KEPT LOOKING. Looking back at the original Hebrew word this mean HAVING A DREAM or A VISION. This marker is there to tell us it is a new vision each time it is use. The 1st one starting at verse 9 describe God on is throne with 1000 upon 1000 and myriads upon myriads in front of him, we also see the books being open. To place this in time we have to look in Rev 20:11-12, this is the last judgment, it is at this time that we see the throne and the books being open, after the millennium and before the new Jerusalem. The next vision start at verse 11 and it talks obviously about the dead of the Antichrist, the horn that was speaking boastful words. And in verse 12 it says the rest of the beasts were kept alive for a period of time, that period is the millennium. Rev 19:20 help us place this vision in time, we can read about the beast and the false prophet being thrown in the fire, just before the millennium. When it says the rest of the beasts, plural is use because Satan is describe as multiple kind of beast throughout the bible. An example is Rev 20:2, Satan is presented in multiple appearances, different beasts. The last one in verse 13 is the coming of Christ, with the description I don't think I need to say a lot. Don't try to read those vision in a chronologically manner, because it isn't.
Daniel Chapter 8
The Ram, The Goat & the little horn
The first thing Daniel see is a ram with 2 horns. There is one horn longer than the other, and that longer one came up last. In verse 16, we see that it is the angel Gabriel that interpret the vision. We have the interpretation in verse 20. The horns represents the kings of Media-Persia, the one that came last is Persia. The Median empire was there first and Persia came and conquer them. It is also longer than the first one because Persia was greater than Media even if they were standing side by side.
The next thing Daniel see is a goat with a horn between his eyes. That goat is coming from the west over the surface of the earth, not touching it. It struck the ram and his 2 horns and broke the horns, and after he magnified itself, his horn broke and 4 others came up toward the 4 winds of heaven. We have the interpretation in verse 21-22. The goat represents the Greek empire. It has one horn, representing the first king of that kingdom, Alexander the Great. It is coming from the west, over the earth like if it was flying. Greek was west of Media-Persia and in chapter 7, the beast representing Alexander the Great had wings, so it could fly. The horn is broken and 4 others came up, 4 others kingdoms split up all around the Mediterranean sea, towards North, South, East and West (4 winds of heaven). One of them is the Seleucid, from where Antiochus IV Epiphane came out.
Verse 9 to 14 might look like it is talking about the Antichrist, but it actually talks about Antiochus IV, I'll explain. Verse 10 stand out of the rest of the passages, it talks about stars falling to the earth. Stars are Angels in Revelation, Rev 1:20. So verse 10 is an allusion to the end time prophecy, we can see those verse standing out of context in multiple place in the Bible, and they are always about end time prophecy. Verse 14 give us the period that the daily sacrifice will be stop, this period doesn't fit with the Antichrist period, which is 1260 days or 42 months. Also in the interpretation of Gabriel (Verse 23-25), Gabriel start with, In the latter period of their kingdom, When the transgressors have finished. The transgressors are the 4 generals that took the lead when Alexander died and Gabriel is saying in the latter period not in the latter time, this tell us that we are not in the prophecy of the end. Gabriel interpret this vision with word like “destroy mighty man” and “holy peoples”, he doesn't use “Angels” to describe it. There is 2 other things that can confuse some and make them think about the end, when he says: oppose the Prince of princes and broken without human agency. But Antiochus IV actually oppose himself to God by stopping the daily sacrifice and doing the abomination of desolation, and he didn't die from a human hand, he died from some disease probably given to him by God. This passage is about Antiochus IV, he is the little horn in this vision, which is a figure of the little horn in Revelation, Antichrist.
Vision of the evenings and mornings
The question in verse 13: How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled? The holy one answer in verse 14: For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored. Many version says 2300 days instead. The word “days” is translate from 2 Hebrew words, “e-reb” and “bo-qer”, which respectively mean evenings and mornings. The regular or daily sacrifice was made twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, the sacrifice will be stop for 2300 evenings and morning, meaning 1150 days. Where is that period fit? Not in the end time, for sure. Antichrist will reign for 42 months (Rev 13:5), which is 3.5 years or 1260 days. This period actually fit with Antiochus IV event. The book of Maccabees relate the story of Antiochus IV and the Maccabees rebellion.
-1 Mac. 1:20, Antiochus IV start a war against Israel, it came and stole lots of artifact from the sanctuary in the years 143.
-1 Mac. 1:24, Antiochus IV went back to his land.
-1 Mac. 1:29, Antiochus IV is coming against Israel again after 2 years, in the years 145, he put down the sanctuary and kill many one.
-1 Mac. 1:41-42, he made a law that everyone had to follow, no more sacrifice allowed. That happen in the latter year 145. End of the daily sacrifice.
-1 Mac. 1:54, they are setting up the abomination of desolation on the 15th day of Kislev in the year 145. We can see, between verse 41 and 54, that some time has pass between the stop of the sacrifice and the set up of the abomination.
-1 Mac. 4:52, after the rebellion the sanctuary is restore on the 25th day of Kislev in the year 148. No direct indication on how long it was without the sacrifice but it is at least 3 years and a bit. Going back at the timing giving in Daniel vision, 1150 days, it is 3 years and about 2 months. 1150/360 = 3.2 years. Same timing than the book of Maccabees. So this vision is telling the time Antiochus IV will stop the sacrifice 100 years before it happens.
DANIEL CHAPTER 9
Daniel timeline
At the beginning of the chapter, Daniel see in the books that according to Jeremiah prophecy 70 years shall pass before the restoration of Jerusalem. Daniel was part of the Jews being hold captive by the Babylonian during those 70 years. I suppose he was looking in the word of God for any kind of hope or comfort. Daniel then, start to fast and pray. While he was praying, Gabriel came to visit him again, verse 21.
Gabriel reveals to Daniel God's timeline until the end in verse 25, 26, 27. I'll explain those 3 verses 1 at the time, but before I do so, we have to clarify some detail. The week here are representing 7 years, so it's 7 X 7 years and 62 X 7 years. The Hebrew word use for week in those verse means 7 units. The unit could be day or year, 7 days or 7 years. This prophecy is about the Messiah (Jesus), obviously from that century, to reach the Messiah we have to use “year” instead of “day”. Next things is the length of 1 year. We live on a 365 days/year calendar, well, that is not the case for God. He set the year on a 360 days/year from Genesis to Revelation. God set this time for the first time in Gen 7 and 8. It's the flood that God sent on earth, Gen 7:24 set the length of the flood to 150 days. Gen 7:11 set the start of the flood the 17th day of the 2nd month. Gen 8: 3-4 set the end of the flood the 17th day of the 7th month. Therefore 5 months or 150 days, do the math, 150 days/5 months = 30 days/month, multiply by 12 months = 360 days. Same thing in revelation, but to find out we have to understand the 3 ways to describe 3 1/2 years: 1260 days, 42 months, and “a time, times and half of a time”. In Daniel 7:25 we see that the Antichrist reign will be, “a time, times and half of a time”. In Revelation 13:5 the Antichrist reign is 42 months. So we can say 42 months is same as “a time, times, and half of a time”. The story of the woman in Revelation 12, in verse 14 it says she was nourished for “a time, times, and half of a time”, but in verse 6, it says she would be nourished for 1260 days. So we can say 1260 days is same as “a time, times, and half of a time”. For now we know that those 3 ways mean the same, but it is Daniel 9:27 that tell us it is 3 1/2 years. In this verse we see that the Antichrist will rise in the middle of the last week of Daniel, which is 7 years. Therefore, half the week is 3 1/2 years. Coming back to the year length in Revelation, if 3 1/2 years is 1260 days, then 1260 days/3 1/2 years = 360 days/year. So God set the length of 1 year in Genesis and in Revelation, the 1st and the last book. Reasonable to say it's God time throughout the bible. With those details in mind, let's go through the 3 verses.
Verse 25. From the going forth of the command to restore Jerusalem, Nehemiah chapter 2 reveal us who will do the command, Artaxerxes in his 20th year will issue that decree to Nehemiah. Artaxerxes start his reign in 465 BC, so that decree was issued in 445 BC. Daniel timeline start here, 445 BC. Until Messiah the prince there is 7 weeks and 62 weeks. So we reach Messiah the prince after 69 weeks, but why braking it in 2 pieces (7 weeks and 62 weeks). I already explain what the word week means, the 1st of the 2 pieces is 7 X 7 years, so 49 years. I dig the history about event that happens in 396 BC and i didn't find anything, and moving the starting point to make it fit to an event would be an heresy. So if nothing happen we have to find another answer. What God is telling us is at that 69th week, it will be a year of jubilee.
7 weeks and 62 weeks, 49 years and 434 years. God put an accent on 49 years to tell us that at the end of the 483 years it will be a year of Jubilee. Let's do the math, 445 BC is the start of the 69 weeks, 445 years convert in a 360days/year format, which is God time, equals 451 years. At this we had 32 years cause there is no year zero, that equal 483 years. So from the going forth of the command to 33 AD there is 483 years. So the timeline starting in 445 BC will end up in 33 AD.
33 AD is a year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25: 8-10, the Lord speak to Moses on mount Sinai, He is telling him about when Israel will enter the promise land. He is saying the first year will be a sabbath year, and then they will count 7 sabbaths of year, 7 X 7 years for 49 years, and the 50th year will be a Jubilee as the first year when the enter the land. This is a year of great rejoice as they enter the promise land, so as the day of Messiah the prince will be. We will start counting from that year when the Jews enter the promise land after they escape Egypt which was a Jubilee (Leviticus 25). When they enter that land the earth was 2706 years old according to the bible (refer to my bible study: The true age of the earth, but don't forget to add 40 years after the 430 years they were in Egypt cause they were in the wilderness for 40 years.). In the first year of Cyrus the earth was 3645,5 years old (refer to my bible study: The true age of the earth). From the time they enter the land to the first year of Cyrus there is 939,5 years (3645,5-2706). Cyrus reign started in 539 BC, add 32 years to that, we get 571 years to reach 33 ad. Convert to God's timing to get 579 years + 939,5 years = 1518,5 years. Divide that by 50 cause they have a Jubilee each 50 years and we get 30 Jubilee, so 33 ad. was the 3oth jubilee.
Going back to the beginning of verse 25, “until Messiah the prince”, why the prince instead of Messiah only. God is talking about Messiah resurrected. God is not talking about when He was born or when He started His ministry, we'll see in the next verse that after the 69 weeks He will die. It can't be born or start a ministry in the same year then He died. So, Messiah resurrected, we all know that the prince on earth is Satan, a kingdom can't have two princes, which mean Messiah can't be prince on earth as Jesus the man. But He is Prince of heaven as Jesus resurrected in His glorify body. God refer to Messiah the prince to tell us that at this time He is resurrected. Another fact tell us that Messiah the prince is Jesus resurrected, the 69 weeks end up in 33 AD. We already demonstrated it.
Of course there is an acceptable error from rounding number. 33 AD was the 30th Jubilee, Jesus is our promise land, through Him we have access to heaven when we can rest and be feed with milk and honey. But He has to died and be resurrected to give us this access.
The last portion of the verse, it might be an allusion to Christ resurrection, since we are all part of the body of Christ, our body being the temple, honestly, I am not sure.
Verse 26, “Then after the 62 weeks”. The 62 weeks in the last verse, basically after the 69 weeks. The Messiah will be cut off, here it just says “Messiah” no more “The prince”, simply because it is before His dead. “Cut off” explains itself, crucifixion. “Not for Himself” or other translation says “Nothing for Him”, “Have nothing”. The Hebrew word is “Ayin” which mean non-existent, Jesus didn't have any offspring, so His name won't carry on in a human way. Here is the gap in Daniel prophecy, it says “the people of the prince who IS TO COME”, but we do not have a specific timing. From now on we are at the end of time, to understand that we have to look at verse 26b and verse 27 as a package. The scripture use pronoun instead of naming someone, so it has to refer to the prince in verse 26. The prince is the Antichrist, here is why I say that: “he (prince) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”, also in verse 27 “he (prince) shall confirm a covenant for one week” and “he (prince) shall bring an end to the sacrifice and the offering”. All of this are the Antichrist deeds. There is another person that did that, Antiochus IV epiphane, but is reign was 175BC to 164BC, way before the end of the 69 weeks. The theory of the Roman emperor in 70 AD is also threw off, he didn't make any covenant and didn't stop the sacrifice. Those verse, therefore, refer to the 3rd temple that will be built in the future. 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4, “The son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” If the Antichrist is in the temple, a temple will be. Matthew 24: 15, the Antichrist will stand in the holy place, again a temple has to be to have a holy place.
Verse 27, the last week of the prophecy. The last week of Daniel prophecy is the event of the end: the Antichrist covenant, stop of the sacrifice in the middle of that week and the reign of the Antichrist in the last half of the week until he will be stop by God. 1 week is 7 years, so half of it is 3.5 years, 42 months or 1260 days. At the end of the time the bible says that the Antichrist will reign for 3.5 years, 1260 days, 42 months or a time, times, and half of the time. He will fight the saints and overcome them, he will do terrible things until he will be stop by God, as determined by Him. I will not do an eschatology study here but just know that the last verse talk about those things.
DANIEL CHAPTER 10
Jesus appears to Daniel
The chapter start letting us know that Daniel received a message and he understands the message. Daniel was fasting and mourning for his brother that were building the temple. It's the 3rd year of Cyrus, so they had been send back to their land to rebuild the temple (book of Nehemiah and Ezra). A man appears to Daniel, the description of this man made by Daniel in verse 6 reveals us that it is Jesus. We can see the same description in Rev 1: 13-16, also in Rev 19: 11-12. There are some other passages of Jesus description as well. In verse 13 Jesus explain to Daniel that the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding Him for 21 days, and Michael, one of the chief prince came to help Him. Obviously, it isn't the man prince of Persia, to withstand Jesus it has to be a demon. In verse 14 Jesus says that he came to give the understanding of what will happen in the LATTER DAY, not the time of the end, also this will happen to the people of Daniel, the Jews. The understanding that Jesus is talking is given to Daniel in the next chapter.
DANIEL CHAPTER 11
Darius the Mede identity
The prophecy in this chapter bring us to Antiochus IV Epiphane. It starts in the first year of a king name Darius the Mede. There is a lot of confusion about who is Darius the Mede, not to say that I have the absolute truth, but I will bring up some history fact in the light of the word of God to support that it is Cyrus the great, the king that took Babylon and founded the media-persia empire.
Cyrus was actually a Median, his mother was Mandane of Media, she was born in the city of Ecbatana, which was the capital of Media in the 8th century. Darius simply did what king were doing in that time and he changed name when he became king.
At the beginning of chapter 6 we learned that Darius set over the kingdom 120 satraps. The history of Cyrus the great revealed us that he was the king who set up the satrap over the kingdom of Persia.
Daniel 6:25, Darius set a decree that everyone in his kingdom must tremble and fear the God of Daniel. That happen after the story of the lion den, Darius realize how powerful is God and start to fear Him. The liberation of the Jews in the first year of Cyrus match this decree. In both case it happen in the first year of the king and it is about the same year. After King Belshazzar.
Daniel 6:28, “Daniel prosper in the reign of Darius and Cyrus”, I believe God is telling us that it is the same person because of all the reason I'm bringing up. Another one is Daniel 5:31, “Darius the median RECIEVED the kingdom”. Cyrus didn't have to fight to take over the kingdom, Belshazzar was having a feast letting the palace mostly unguarded, so Cyrus enter the palace and kill Belshazzar. Daniel 5:30-31 are key verses, “That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Median received the kingdom.”, Belshazzar got kill the same night they were celebrating Daniel, which match the story of the fall of Babylon to Cyrus.
Here is an interesting fact about Cyrus and Darius the median In the verse 31, “Darius the Median received the kingdom at about the age of 62 YO. Cyrus, born in 600BC, took over Babylon in 538BC. Yes, Cyrus was 62 years old when he took over Babylon.
Now the controversial Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the median in Daniel chapter 9:1. First thing we need to understand is, even if Ahasuerus could be translate as Xerxes or Artaxerxes, it is not Xerxes. It would mean that Darius is the son of Xerxes, the only son of Xerxes name Darius may have be king, but for less than one year. This Darius had been murder right after is father Xerxes, so he doesn't have a first year, he doesn't have year at all. Now taking a look at the big picture, in chapter 9 Daniel is praying God so He would free them from the captivity of 70 years prophesied by Jeremy. We know that Israel were freed by Cyrus in his first year, around 538BC. If Ahasuerus is Xerxes then we are in 465BC, when he got kill and his son ascended as king. Yes, 74 years after the end of the captivity, that doesn't make any sense. A more reliable explanation would be this one, many scholar agree that Ahasuerus could be a title instead of a name, like Pharaoh used by the Egyptian.
Here is a fact to support the title theory instead of name. Ezra chapter 4 verse 6 and 7, 2 letter of accusation had been sent to 2 different kings, Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes. The only 2 letter of accusation against the rebuilding of the temple and the city we know about in the bible had been sent to Artaxerxes and Darius, Ezra 4:11 and Ezra 5:7. Probably Darius 1er, if we look at the history timeline and Ezra 4:4-5. So here Ahasuerus would be Darius, 2 different kings name Ahasuerus, Darius 1er and the father of Darius, of the lineage of the median. That confirm the theory of Ahasuerus being a title instead of a name. With this theory, Ahasuerus in Daniel chapter 9 could had been Cambyses 1, Cyrus's father, king of Persia. Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of median descent is Cyrus the Great.
The first 4 kings
With that in mind, at the beginning of chapter 11 when Jesus says “In the first year of Darius the mede, I arose to be an encouragement and protection for him.” we now know that it is Cyrus the Great. 3 more kings will arise in Persia, according to the history the 3 kings are: Cambyses II, Bardiya and Darius I. The 4th one that will gain more riches than all of them is Xerxes I. Xerxes I is the 4th king of Persia according to the history, plus the bible support that it was Xerxes I by talking about his great riches. It says he will be far more riches than the other kings, the book of Esther bring this to light. Esther 1:4-5, Xerxes (Ahasuerus) show is riches for 180 days and then made a feast of seven days for everyone in the kingdom. The description of his riches keep going on, we surely see that he is really rich. Yes, another Ahasuerus, but this time it is Xerxes I, here is how we can tell. According to the historian Xerxes I was married to queen Vashti and she refused to answer his order to come to him, so he rebuked her and choose another queen among the Jews, Esther. This is the story of the book of Esther, we can read about queen Vashti disobeying and Xerxes I choosing Esther as new queen. Daniel 11:2 also says that this 4th king will arise the whole empire against the Greek, Xerxes I rose a huge army and invaded Greece around 480 BC.
At verse 3-4 a king will arise powerful and lose his kingdom in 4 kingdoms not of his own posterity. The king describe here is Alexander the Great who took over the whole kingdom around 330BC, build a strong empire but lost it onto his 4 general (not his posterity). The end of verse 4 give us more detail on the story, nor according to his authority (he didn't want this division), his sovereignty will be uprooted (his son Alexander IV was kill). The 4 kingdoms were: Ptolemaic (Egypt), Seleucid (Mesopotamia), Central Asia and Macedon.
King of the north and the south
The chapter continue with the story of the king of the North and the king of the South, which are North and South of the Mediterranean sea. On the South end was the Ptolemaic in Egypt and on the North end was the Seleucid in Mesopotamia, that kingdom expand to the Macedon early after the fall of Alexander the great. In this part of the study i will parallel the history and the scripture, scripture being report in (bracket). Verse 5, The first king of Egypt (South) was Ptolemy I, he proclaimed himself king 6 years after Alexander IV, son of Alexander the great, died. He became king in 305 bc, start a war with the Seleucid (North) and died in 282 bc. His son Ptolemy II took his place (as well as one of his prince), he continue to gain power over the Seleucid. Verse 6, during the 2nd Syrian war against the Seleucid, Ptolemy sustained losses and agreed peace with the Seleucid by offering his daughter Berenice Phernopherus in marriage with Antiochus II. When Ptolemy II died in 246 bc (him who sired her), Antiochus II divorce Berenice and went back with his first wife Laodice. Laodice kill Antiochus II (him who strengthened her), and when Berenice claim the throne for her son, Laodice kill her, her son and everyone that was with her (she will not retain her position of power, ..., those who brought her in) and proclaimed her son Seleucus II as king.
Verse 7, Ptolemy III, Berenice brother (branch of her roots), succeed Ptolemy II and jump into revenge to avenge his sister. He invaded the Seleucid, reach Babylon, enter Antioch (enter the fortress of the king of the North) the capital and stand there for a little while. Verse 8, Ptolemy III also took many of their God's artifact to Egypt. He died in 222 bc. Verse 9, Seleucus II came against Egypt and regain most of the Seleucid empire, than he made peace and came back home. Verse 10, both Seleucus II sons, Seleucus III and Antiochus III, raised an army against Ptolemy IV, Seleucus III died 3 years after and Antiochus III continued the war against Ptolemy IV. Antiochus III did a great campaign against Ptolemy IV, almost in the confine of the Ptolemaic kingdom in 219 & 218 bc. Verse 11-12, those event took place in the battle of Raphia in 217 bc, Ptolemy IV came himself against Antiochus III and won this battle. He killed many soldiers of the Seleucid army (v.12: tens of thousands). Ptolemy IV won this battle but just to see Antiochus III go back and gather more soldiers (but he will not prevail). Verse 13, Antiochus III recovered Asia Minor, the outlying provinces of the North-East and India. Then, came back against Ptolemy IV with a great multitude. Verse 14, 3 Maccabees tell the story of Ptolemy IV after the battle of Raphia, he went to visit the temple of the Jews and tried to enter the most holy place. When the Jews saw that, they did everything they can to prevent him to enter the most holy place (violent men of your people). Ptolemy IV, became angry, and went against them (they shall fall). After Ptolemy IV died, Ptolemy V took his place during Antiochus III reign. Antiochus III conclude a pact with Philip V of Macedon, they were to share the land of Ptolemy V after conquering it (many shall rise against the king of the south).
Verse 15-16, the siege is the siege of the city of Sidon at the battle of Paneas. Sidon was a fortified city, as we can see in the bible. His choice troops was the troops of the leader Scopas, who recovered many provinces. Antiochus III enter the city and put an end to the Ptolemaic empire in Judea. He entered Judea to end that dynasty (enter the glorious land), he had a really great army under his command, he could had destroy everything (destruction in his power). Verse 17, Antiochus III had his whole army with him, but instead of destroying the Ptolemy, he made peace by giving his daughter Cleopatra I to Ptolemy V in marriage. It was a sneaky action to try to destroy them. But she choose to be faithful to her husband, Ptolemy V, and she didn't do Antiochus III will. Verse 18, Antiochus III continued his campaign on the coastline against the Roman. He conquered many city, but the Roman consul, Manius Acilius Glabrio, force him to withdraw to Asia Minor. The Roman followed him and the general, Scipio Asiaticus, did to him what he wanted to do and delivered Asia Minor. Verse 19, not too long after, Antiochus III tried to organize another expedition in Persia, but he died in his birth city, Susa, Elymais.
Verse 20, Seleucus IV succeed to Antiochus III, he raised the tax because he was struggling to pay the Roman tax. He sent Heliodorus, his minister, to seize the Jewish temple treasury. On his return, Heliodorus killed Seleucus IV. Verse 21, Heliodurus didn't have the time to install himself on the throne that Antiochus IV Epiphane oust him out of the throne with the help of Eumenes II of Pergamon. He proclaim himself co-regent with the heir of Seleucus IV, a son name Antiochus, which he manage to murder a couple year later. Verse 22, During the reign of Antiochus IV the Jews were split in 2, the Hellenism and the traditionalism. The Hellenism made an alliance with Antiochus IV, a rebellion and a war developed but the traditionalism got submerge by Antiochus IV. The prince of the covenant is surely the leader of the Hellenism Jews, Antiochus IV killed him because he failed bringing all the Jews with the Hellenism.
From here I will use the book of Maccabees to had some historic detail to the verses. Verse 23 and 1 Mac 1: 11-13, the Jews that joint Antiochus IV in a reform to support the Hellenism deceive many others to joint him as well. Verse 24 and 1 Mac 1: 15, Antiochus IV permit Jason the high priest to build a gymnasium or a place of exercises and educated the young people to live according to the Greek belief. He deceived them from inside with richest and games. But that didn't last very long. Verse 25, Antiochus IV came against Egypt and capture Ptolemy VI, he made him his puppet ruler. The non-conquered Egypt divided themselves from Ptolemy VI and proclaimed Ptolemy VIII as King. Verse 26, it's Ptolemy VI guardian that provoke Antiochus IV by demanding a territory. Verse 27, That is Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII. They made peace but they betrayed each others and finally start war against each others. Verse 28 and 1 Mac 1: 20-24, Antiochus IV after having smitten Egypt came back in Israel, enter the sanctuary and stole all the treasury. Then he went back to his land. Verse 29, Antiochus IV landed another attack against Egypt but this time it didn't go as plan. Verse 30, Antiochus IV got block by the Roman and he had to turn back, in the meantime, Jason the high priest conquered Jerusalem and murdered many adherents of Menelaus, who had been appointed by Antiochus IV. When Antiochus IV came back from Egypt he took Jerusalem like a storm.
Verse 31, he will enter the sanctuary, defile it, stop the daily sacrifice and install the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, a Zeus statue. Verse 30-31 are detail in 1 Mac 1: 29-54. Verse 32-35, after these things happen some of the Jews will accept his reign and his authority. Some of the Jews will stay faithful toward God and try to instruct the others, but Antiochus IV will persecute them and they will be imprison and kill. But not all of them, and those who were kill will be purify by the persecution and death, and they will be made white for the end. The verse 35 is introducing verse 36-39, we are in the time of the end. The event related in those verse have nothing to do with what Antiochus IV did. Those verses are in relation with Rev 13: 5-8. God showed Daniel The relation between Antiochus IV and the Antichrist by introducing a portion of the event of the end. Verse 40-44 are a resume of the war between the North and the South, Antiochus IV didn't do any others conquest after the rebellion and the abomination of desolation. Plus, we can see that the same event repeat itself. Verse 45, Antiochus IV plant another city between Israel and the coastal province just before he died, that could be the tents of his royal pavilion.
DANIEL CHAPTER 12
The end of time
Verse 1, Michael arise. Michael is the general of God's army, this must be Armageddon, the war against the Antichrist. This will be a great trouble time for everyone, but those who are in the Book will be saved. Verse 2, those resurrected to everlasting life and those left on earth to disgrace. There is 2 distinct resurrection in the book of revelation, 1 before the 1000 years and the other one after. The first resurrection is the resurrection of the just, when we will all be caught up together, and the ones left on earth are condemn, those 2 verse relate the 1st resurrection. Verse 3, Those who study and understand the word off God and those who led people to Jesus will shine, but differently, we will have different role. Verse 4, Daniel is being asked to seal the book until the end of time. Verse 5, Daniel see 2 others. Verse 6, 1 of them ask to the man above the river: How long until the fulfillment of these wonders. We are talking about the wonders that we just read in the first 3 verses. The answer in verse 7 is a time, times, and half of a time. Now the events in those 3 verses all happen at the end, Armageddon, the opening of books and rewards for those who keep the words. We have to look in Revelation to understand when and how long.
The timing of the beast in Rev 13:5 (42 months) match the timing in the verse 7, I’ll explain why: we know we have 360 days in a year, divide by 12 months, it is 30 days/month. Multiply it by 42 months and we have 1260 days, keep that number in mind. Verse 7, The answer is: a time, times, and half of the time. Now, what does that mean? We have to refer to Rev 12:6 and Rev 12:14, it's the parable of the woman persecuted, the child, and the dragon. Rev 12:6. the woman fled to a place where they would feed her for 1260 days. Now Rev 12:14, that same woman fly to a place where she is nourished for a time, times, and half of a time. Look what I underlined, same woman, same action but different way to mark the time. So 1260 days is the same as a time, times, and half of a time. Again, we know there is 360 days in a year, so 1260 days divide by 360 days give us 3.5 years. Therefore, a time (1 year), timeS (2 years), and half of a time (0.5 year), so again 3.5 years. So the timing of the beast in Rev 13:5 (42 months) match the timing in the verse 7 (a time, times, and half of the time). So those wonders will be fulfill in 3.5 years and will happen in the last half week of Daniel’s last week. Verse 8, Daniel ask what shall be the end, but the Angel answer at verse 9 that the words are closed up, seal till the end. Verse 10, Many will be purified, made white and refined, that is through the tribulation. Many verse talk about that in the bible, 1 Peter 1:6-7 is one of them. The wicked shall do wickedly, we can see it in Revelation. Rev 9:21, Rev 16:9, Rev 16-11. Before we talk about verse 11 and 12 let's review, in Dan 12:6 a man ask how long for the war and the last judgment (wonders) . Dan 12:7 answer by God 1260 days. Dan 12:8 Daniel ask WHAT shall be the end, the outcome. In verse 9 God answer the same than in verse 4, but He is telling us when in verse 11-12. Verse 11, from the abomination of desolation, the rise the Antichrist, there shall be 1290 days. Why 30 more days than He said before? No, God doesn't do mistake. Rev 19 talk about a marriage supper of the lamb, the marriage is the wedding between Jesus and His bride, the church. And the supper is the banquet, we will have a big banquet of 30 days at our marriage with Jesus. This is why the 30 days more, it's for the supper of the lamb. Verse 12, we will be bless if we wait 1335 days. After the supper of the lamb there is the WAR, Armageddon, where Jesus and His army will fight the Antichrist, the prophet and Satan. We could expect this war to last 45 days, that will bring us from 1290 days to 1335 days. And at this point Satan is thrown out in the pit for 1000 years, and us will live on earth with Jesus for those 1000 years. Verse 13 is a promise to Daniel that he will be save.
MESSAGE TO THE READER
I hope you had a good reading, this is my analysis of Daniel at the time I did it. This isn't THE truth, always stay open to God's words. God bless you!!!
DANIEL TIMELINE
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