The last vision
Daniel 11
45 verses≈ 11 minBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
Tap any post to go deeper
Where we are
- 1Exiles at courtBabylon, 605 BC: four young men and the king’s food
- 2The king’s dreamAbout 603 BC: a statue, a stone, a kingdom forever
- 3The fiery furnaceThree men who would not bow
- 4The great treeNebuchadnezzar humbled, then praising God
- 5The writing on the wall539 BC: Belshazzar’s feast, Babylon’s last night
- 6The lions’ denDarius the Mede, and a man who kept praying
- 7Four beasts and the Son of ManBelshazzar’s first year: the kingdoms again
- 8The ram and the goatMedia and Persia, Greece, and a proud horn
- 9Seventy weeksDarius’s first year: Daniel’s prayer and Gabriel’s answer
- 10–12The last visionCyrus’s third year: kings, the end, and the risingChapter 11
Kings of the South and North
“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture
The angel
Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
South and North
After Alexander, the Ptolemies ruled Egypt from Alexandria (the South) and the Seleucids ruled Syria from Antioch (the North). For about a century and a half they fought, and the Beautiful Land lay between.
The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.
After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.
The angel
But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing. He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.
But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress. In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.
When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph. For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.
In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.
He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.
Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.
Question
Quick question
Chapter 8 named Greece and its four kingdoms (8:21–22). Chapter 11 follows two of them.
Who are the kings of the South and the North in 11:5–20?
In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.
After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.
And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
The angel
And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.
With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
Daniel 11:32
Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.
Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.
The angel
Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
The King Who Exalts Himself
Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.
He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.
And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.
At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.
He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.
But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
0:15
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Pray
Pray
God of gods, kings rise, scheme and fall, and none of it is outside Your appointed time. Make me one of those who know their God and stand firm. When I am refined, let it make me pure, and keep me to the end.
Kings to come
Whiteboard
Empires come and go just as the angel said. The story’s eye is on God’s people, and on the end He has set.
You’ve experienced
Daniel 11
0 of 12 chapters read
A verse to carry with you
With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
Daniel 11:32
or swipe left