DANIEL: THRIVING IN A GODLESS CULTURE

XIV: God's Encouraging Predictions Of Persian And Grecian Overlords

(Daniel 11:2-20)

I. Introduction

A. We believers living in a spiritually decaying, godless culture, need to live affirmatively in victory over sin.

B. Daniel as a young man was taken captive by godless Babylonians, and he lived through Persia's conquest of Babylon, righteously and wisely serving the Lord in a godless culture as a great example for us.

C. One of the great encouragements we can glean from Daniel's life experiences was the revelation God gave him on His vast sovereignty over Israel's Gentile overlords, what especially Daniel 11:2-20 supplies (as follows):

II. God's Encouraging Predictions Of Persian And Grecian Overlords, Daniel 11:2-20.

A. The Daniel 7-12 visions describe challenges God's people would face after Daniel's era under future godless empires until the arrival of Christ’s Kingdom. Daniel 11:2-20 in great, literal detail, predicted the history of the Persian and Grecian overlords Israel would face, revealing God's vast sovereignty over world history.

B. We view that insight given by God's powerful angel to Daniel for our edification (as follows), Daniel 11:2-20:

1. After Cyrus, Persia would be ruled by Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis, Darius I Hystaspes and Xerxes, Esther's king Ahasuerus, who would fight Greece (530-465 B. C.), Dan. 11:2; B. K. C., O. T., p. 1367.

2. Greece's Alexander the Great would then rule with great dominion only suddenly to die, and his kingdom would be split into four parts ruled by his four generals (334-323 B. C.), Dan. 11:3-4; Ibid., p. 1367-1368.

3. The kings of the south, the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt, would repeatedly war against the Seleucids, the kings of the north who ruled Syria, Israel and Babylon as recorded in Daniel 11:5-20 (323-176 B. C.):

a. Seleucus I Nicator gained Ptolemy I Soter's help to counter the effort of another of Alexander's generals to defeat his control of Babylon, and thereby got far more land than Ptolemy I (316-305 B. C.), v. 5; Ibid.

b. "Ptolemy II gave his daughter" Berenice "in marriage to Antiochus I, a Seleucid, but Antiochus deserted her and was later murdered" (285-246 B. C.) Dan. 11:6; Ibid.; Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, 1978, ftn. to Dan. 11:6.

c. Berenice's brother Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221 B. C.) succeeded his father Ptolemy II and invaded the Seleucid-controlled territory of Syria, Daniel 11:7-8; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1368.

d. Consequently, a series of battles between the king of the north (Syria) and the king of the south (Egypt) occurred as predicted in Daniel 11:9-12; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Daniel 11:9-13:

i. Seleucus II Callinicus of Syria tried but failed to invade Egypt, Daniel 11:9-10a; Ibid.

ii. He died by falling from a horse, so his son Seleucus II Soter then ruled in his place, but he was assassinated by conspirators while he was on a military campaign in Asia Minor, Ibid.

iii. Seleucus III's brother, Antiochus III (the Great), came to the throne in 223 B. C. at age 18 and ruled for 36 years, Ibid.; Daniel 11:10b.

iv. Antiochus III succeeded where the previous Seleucids had failed, driving the Egyptians back to the southern borders of Israel in 219-217 B. C., Daniel 11:10c; Ibid.

v. Ptolemy IV Philopater of Egypt succeeded in slaughtering many thousands of men in Antiochus III's army, but he failed to overrun Antiochus III, Daniel 11:11-12.

e. Philip V of Macedonia then joined Antiochus III to help him gain independence from the Ptolemy regime in Egypt, many Jews joined them, hoping to gain independence and set up their own Messianic Kingdom, but to no avail, Dan. 11:13-14; Ibid., ftn. to Dan. 11:15-20; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1368-1369.

f. Antiochus III defeated the Egyptian army in Sidon in 203 B. C. (Dan. 11:15-16) and tried to make peace with Ptolemy V of Egypt by giving him his daughter in marriage (Dan. 11:17). Antiochus III then annexed the coastlands of Asia Minor and tried to invade Greece, but he failed (Dan. 11:18), Ibid., Ryrie.

g. The Romans defeated Antiochus III at Magnesia in 190 B. C. and he was forced to pay tribute to Rome. However, he died soon after that, Daniel 11:19; Ibid.

h. Antiochus III's son Seleucus IV Philopater (187-176 B. C.) then heavily taxed Israel, Daniel 11:20; Ibid.

Lesson: The detailed accuracy with which each of these predictions were fulfilled after the death of the prophet Daniel who wrote them down testifies to (1) the accuracy of Bible prophecy as interpreted literally, (2) the divine inspiration of Scripture and (3) God's complete sovereignty over even godless, secular rulers.

Application: (1) May we trust the accuracy of Bible prophecy as interpreted literally and (2) the divine inspiration of Scripture, and (3) may we rest in God's complete sovereignty over even godless, secular rulers.