Step into a world where ancient prophecies come to life. This episode takes you through Daniel chapter 11, chronicling legendary battles and diplomatic marriages that shaped the fate of nations. Get a front-row seat to the unfolding of historical and biblical events, piecing together the intricate details like a grand tapestry of the past. From the shores of the Nile to the kingdoms of Persia and Greece, engage with stories of kings and their quests for ultimate power. As we navigate through alliances and enmities, we gain a clearer perspective on the past, enabling us to understand the present.
We were standing with the Holy Land tour group down at the great fortresses of the Ptolemies on the Nile River. We took a Nile River cruise. There are places you can stop along the way and see and hear all of this history, blow by blow. The guide was talking about this particular story, and he embellished it a little bit. And I told him, well, you know, it’s fascinating you told that right. And he looked at me, and he said, you know about the period of time? I said, no, I just wanted you to know that you told the story exactly right. He said, well, how would you know that? I said, it’s in the book of Daniel, chapter 11, verse 17. Let me read it to you. He said, well, obviously, whoever wrote that wrote it after the time. I said, oh, no. No, we have the Dead Sea Scrolls that prove you wrong.
SPEAKER 05 :
You’re in touch with Hope for Today, the Bible teaching ministry of David Hawking. And today we pick up in Daniel chapter 11, our study there. The struggle between the kings of the north and the south escalates with power grabs, broken alliances, and unexpected turns. One king outlives the other, and the story marches forward exactly as revealed to Daniel. It’s a scene of political intrigue, setting the stage for a far more sinister leader yet to come. Well, stay with us. Day two of our study in Daniel chapter 11 begins in just a moment. First, I’d like to share something that David said, and boy, does it have application today.
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At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, folks, Jesus said, go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I’ve commanded you. Well, This is David Hawking speaking for all of us here at Hope for Today. That command is the center of what our radio and television programs aim to do. It’s the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible all around the world. You can join us in that mission. Pray for us. Pray about how you can help us. like through your financial donations, you can actually contribute online at our website, davidhocking.org. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Call 1-800-75-BIBLE to send a donation. That’s in the U.S. Or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. Or contribute online at DavidHawking.org. Here’s David to take us back to Daniel chapter 11.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s indeed an amazing prophecy. We call it North versus South. Follow along, please, in your Bible as I read. Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him. That verse really belongs with chapter 10. It’s referring to the Messiah, the Son of Man, the one clothed in linen, who also was behind the work of Michael the archangel, the prince of Israel, who fought for Israel. He was encouraged and strengthened by the Messiah. Verse 2, “‘And now I will tell you the truth.'” Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all. By his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Mind you, Greece is not yet in existence, neither are these kings in Persia. Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will.” And when he is arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled. For his kingdom shall be uprooted even for others besides these. Then the king of the south shall become strong as well as one of his princes, and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the south shall go to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand. But she shall be given up with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. But from a branch of her roots, one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the north, and deal with them and prevail. And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt with their princes and their precious articles of silver and gold. And he shall continue more years than the king of the north.” Then the king of the north shall come to the kingdom of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land. However, his sons shall stir up strife and assemble a multitude of great forces, and one shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through. Then he shall return to his fortress and stir up strife. And the king of the south shall be moved with rage and go out and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.” When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. For the king of the north will return and muster a multitude greater than the former and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. It sounds like as the world turns, doesn’t it? And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south. Also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come and build a siege mound and take a fortified city and the forces of the south shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.” But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his power. 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 to destroy it, but she shall not stand with him or before him.” After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall take many, but a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end, and with the reproach removed he shall turn back on him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and not be found. There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom, but with a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.” I draw you back, please, to chapter 10. In chapter 10, that is where Daniel receives the vision. And it’s in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, according to verse 1. And we are told this vision focuses on the Messiah, but it does not end until the end of days. Turn to chapter 12, please. In chapter 12, Daniel says, although I heard, verse 8, I did not understand. Then I said, my Lord, speaking to the man clothed in linen that he saw in chapter 10, what shall be the end of these things? That is the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. And then he discusses what’s going to happen. It says in verse 12, Daniel, you’re going to die. You’ve seen all of this. You’re not going to experience it until the end. But the good news, Daniel, is you’re going to be resurrected to enjoy the benefits. Amen? And that’s what I call a good deal. put him to sleep, don’t have any of the pain, and arise to all the glory. Praise God. What a neat thing. There are two kinds of prophecy, fulfilled prophecy and unfulfilled prophecy. And much of the Bible is fulfilled prophecy. The majority of the Bible has already come true. Now, it’s a little difficult to know how to handle this. So what I thought I would do is ask you to watch your Bible as we run through this passage, and I’m going to tell you the story of this passage as you watch your Bible. And I hope it will be a blessing to you. It’s just a little different way of approaching it. So let’s back up and take a look at the background for these conflicts, primarily looking at verses 2 to 4. You watch your Bible. The three kings who would arise are Cambyses, Pseudo-Smyrtis, and Darius I, called Histopes. The next monarch, who is the fourth one, was Xerxes I, and he used his treasures, according to history, to maintain a huge army and made an expedition against Greece. What the Bible says in Daniel chapter 11 is that the fourth king will be far richer than the first three. And those who follow Cyrus are exactly three in number, exactly the way the Bible said. Cambyses, Pseudo-Smyrtis, and Darius-Hestestipes. Now, when you look at the next one, it’s Xerxes I, who is obviously known for his fabulous wealth. And he developed a huge army and made an expedition against Greece. Now, the interesting thing is Xerxes I, the husband of Esther, took four years to gather an army of, you ready for this, hundreds of thousands. He launched what was a disastrous campaign against Greece in 480 B.C., Now, Seleucus is the king of the north. He took over all of Syria and portions of Iraq, what we know as Turkey today. And the south, Ptolemy, took over Egypt. And they’re going to battle. So you will see that Seleucus, the king of the north, and Ptolemy, the king of the south, they become names for dynasties. And when you look at this, it’s amazing the detail of the Scripture. By the way, this breakup of the empire was not as strong a kingdom as Alexander’s. And what does it say in the Bible? It’s very clear that it is not as strong as Alexander the Great’s. The battles of the north and the south focus in verses 5 to 9 upon the power of the south. You’ll find something interesting in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, what we call the Septuagint, which was also in existence almost 200 years before Christ. The word south is translated Egypt all through this chapter. Every time the word south appears in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it’s Egypt. That is a correct interpretation, though the word south is there, because it was Egypt, and Egypt alone that the Ptolemies ruled in. Now watch this carefully, beginning with verse 5. Here it goes. The first king of the south was a man named Ptolemy Lagus, also called Soter, meaning savior. And with him was his general, Seleucus Nicator, who had been forced to flee from Babylonia Later Seleucus, the northern king, recovered Babylonia by defeating Antigonus at Gaza, which is on the Gaza Strip in Israel, in 312 B.C. And he built the Seleucid Empire, which is primarily Syria, which greatly exceeded that of the Ptolemies, reaching from Phrygia, which is the middle of Turkey, all the way to the Indus, clear to the east in India. Verse 6… Bernanice is the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus. She married Antiochus II, who was king of Assyria, who was forced to put aside his own wife, whose name was Laodicea, interestingly, in order to marry Bernanice. Two years later, when Ptolemy died, Antiochus II abandoned Bernanice and returned to his former wife. She then gained revenge by having him poisoned and having Bernadice murdered. This attempted political alliance ended in bloodshed and complete failure. Did you watch verse 6 carefully? Now watch verse 7. Ptolemy Philadelphus was succeeded by Ptolemy Euergetus, who was the brother of Bernadice. Her roots, says the Bible in verse 7, which is completely accurate. He invaded Syria and had success against Seleucus Callinicus and put to death Laodicea, the murderess of Bernadice. You’ve got to admit this is better than any daytime serial. Verse 8, according to Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin in the 4th century AD, Ptolemy took back to Egypt 40,000 talents of silver and 2,500 idol statues. Please look carefully again at verse 8. In verse 9, Seleucus Callinicus conducted an invasion of Egypt, but was unsuccessful and had to return home. What does verse 9 say? Exactly the same thing. Now the prominence of the north comes into a picture in verse 10, down to verse 20. Watch verse 10 carefully. Seleucus Callinicus had two sons. Their names were Seleucus Serunus and Antiochus the Great. Aren’t you glad you’re not going to be tested on this? They stirred up for war. After Serenunas was killed in Asia Minor, Antiochus the Great moved south through Egyptian territory and captured the Egyptian fortress at Gaza. Ptolemy Philopator offered no serious resistance at this time. Verse 11. Ptolemy Philopator, who’s described as the king of the south, who’s moved with rage, said, raised a huge army of 73,000 men, 5,000 cavalry, and 73 elephants, and overcame Antiochus the Great so that the army of Antiochus came into the hands of Ptolemy. I would say that’s a rather accurate description in the Bible in verse 11. Verse 12, please. Ptolemy Philopator, who is the southern king, defeated Antiochus at Raphia and caused the Syrians to lose 10,000 infantry, 300 cavalry, 5 elephants, and took 4,000 prisoners. However, Ptolemy did not press his victory. It says he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. Verse 13, Antiochus the Great… raised a greater army because of successes in the east, and about 14 years after the defeat at Rapha, he came again against Egypt. Verse 14. By this time, Ptolemy Philopator had died when Antiochus the Great came, and he was succeeded by his five-year-old son, Ptolemy Epiphanes. Realizing a weakness in Egypt, many rose in rebellion, including Antiochus the Great, who had made a league with Philip of Macedon. That is the man who is well known also in Grecian history. Some rebels within Egypt also joined the league, and even some Jews allied themselves with Antiochus against Egypt. Verse 15… Verse 16. Verse 16. Antiochus then turned his attention to Israel. Notice the words, verse 16, the glorious land, always referring to Israel, and was irresistible. However, Antiochus treated the Jews with favor because they had aided him in his invasion and war against the Egyptians. Verse 17… Antiochus determined to completely destroy his enemy Egypt, so he contracted an agreement whereby he gave his daughter, you’ll recognize this name, Cleopatra, in marriage to Ptolemy Epiphanes. He hoped she would be more faithful to her father than to her husband, but this was not the case, and his scheme did not work. Verse 18… Antiochus, the northern king, then turned his attention to the Mediterranean coastlands and islands, and this brought him in conflict with the Romans. He was defeated at Magnesia in 190 BC by the Roman Lucius Scipio, and his boastings came back upon his own head. Did you read that carefully? Interesting, isn’t it? It even says at the end of the verse, he shall turn back on him. Verse 19, following his defeat, Antiochus had to abandon further conquests, and he returned home and ultimately was killed trying to plunder the temple of Belus in Elimis. Verse 20, he was succeeded, Antiochus the Great, by Seleucus Philopator. Because he had to pay the Romans annually an enormous tribute of 1,000 talents, he sent his prime minister, Heliodorus, to seize the funds of the temple treasury in Jerusalem. Shortly afterward, Seleucus was mysteriously removed, probably through poisoning by Heliodorus. Let’s read verse 20. There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom. That’s exactly what happened. An enormous tribute had to be paid. But within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle, which is exactly what was true in history. Now at this point, beginning at verse 21, we’re going to look at a king who is going to come to power and is going to represent symbolically in history what the Antichrist will do in the future.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David’s back in just a moment to close out our study time with some additional teaching. So do stay with us. First, Matt Hawking is here, and we have something for you prophecy buffs.
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Is it possible to understand the book of Revelation? Which view of the end times is correct? When will Jesus come again? These are just a few of the questions tackled in Revelation, Understanding the Future. Matt, this is a hardbound book by your dad, David Hawking, and it’s excellent and so very helpful to have on hand as we begin a series in the book of Revelation. later this month. You know, Jim, you can open the book. You can easily locate any particular passage in Revelation that you might want to study in the easy-to-follow table of contents, which lists the chapter and verses covered in each section, along with a perfect descriptive title. If there’s a section that’s baffling to you or, well, a bit complex. Or simply something you’d like to study more in depth. Yeah. Perhaps to each other’s. Yeah, exactly. Well, go to the table of contents, locate the section, head over to it, and you’ll see the text of that passage, along with cross-references, outlines, David’s insights, explanations, and applications. All designed to help you understand the book of Revelation. That’s it. This is exciting. It’s a marvelous study that gives us hope for the future. Revelation, Understanding the Future is normally $25, but this month, $25. We have it for you at just 20 bucks. And Matt, we also have your dad’s sermon notes and outlines for the upcoming Revelation series. Order them now and you’ll be ready to go for the start of the series. You can download them or purchase a PDF CD either way. Either way. Just $10. And what a wonderful tool they’ll be helping you to get the very most of our daily study time in Revelation. Call us to order 1-800-75-BIBLE. Bible by the numbers is 24253. In Canada, call 1-888-75BIBLE or at davidhawking.org.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, we also want to tell you about the MP3 audio package of our series in Daniel. This is all 17 messages in our current Daniel radio series for just $30. And the package you receive will include additional teaching we haven’t had time to include on radio. So to order the Daniel Radio Series on MP3, call 1-800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online. In fact, if you order on our website, you can make the purchase and download it. You’ll have it in minutes. Our website, davidhawking.org. And quickly before David returns, if God’s using this program to build you up, prayerfully consider helping us to build others up as well. You can make a donation by writing us at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011. RPO Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Or call us and speak to one of our wonderful Hope for Today volunteers. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE. In the U.S., 875-BIBLE. Bible by the numbers 24253. Or go to our website, davidhawking.org. Once again, here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thanks for listening. I hope you’re enjoying our study. Really a historical study, as you relate. Daniel 11, one of the most accurate descriptions ever written about the times about which Daniel is speaking. And it’s in chapter 11, and we have seen a lot of interesting things here. In verse 15, for instance, Antiochus the Great came against Egypt, and the Egyptian general Scopus was sent to prevent him. And General Scopus and the Egyptians were defeated when Antiochus captured the city of Sidon. He turned his attention to Israel also and seemed almost irresistible. but he treated the Jews with favor because they aided him against the Egyptians. Well, there’s a lot here. Following his defeat and returning home, he ultimately was killed trying to plunder the temple of Belus in Elamites. He was succeeded by Seleucus Philopator, and he had to pay the Romans annually an enormous tribute of 1,000 talents. He sent his prime minister, Heliodorus, to seize the funds of the temple treasury in Jerusalem. But shortly afterwards, Seleucus was mysteriously removed, probably through, they say, poisoning by Heliodorus. We just don’t know. Well, I hope you can be with us for every one of these studies. They’re pretty fascinating out of Daniel chapter 11. So plan to be with us for our next broadcast.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wouldn’t miss it for anything, David. And friends, if you’d like to let us know how you hear this radio broadcast or how and where you tune in, reach out today. Letting us know where you hear the broadcast really helps us make sure that we’re using the finances God has provided in the most efficient way possible. Our number to call, 875-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. Or in Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE. You can also send us a note using our website, the contact form there, davidhawking.org. But don’t miss our next broadcast, the high-stakes final look at Daniel chapter 11. And invite a friend to listen along with you right here on Hope for Today.
Step into a world where ancient prophecies come to life. This episode takes you through Daniel chapter 11, chronicling legendary battles and diplomatic marriages that shaped the fate of nations. Get a front-row seat to the unfolding of historical and biblical events, piecing together the intricate details like a grand tapestry of the past. From the shores of the Nile to the kingdoms of Persia and Greece, engage with stories of kings and their quests for ultimate power. As we navigate through alliances and enmities, we gain a clearer perspective on the past, enabling us to understand the present.
