Daniel Chapters 10-12 Star Chart: In 536 B.C. (10:1), Daniel ate no "pleasant bread" (golden brown gibbous moon) for three weeks (21° days and years) "neither came flesh nor wine to my mouth" (gibbous moon is 21° away clockwise). Then Pollux "touched my lips" (the name "Pollux" actually touches the gibbous moon)." "Then I (Castor) opened my (LUNAR gibbous Cancer) mouth" (10:16-17) to speak and eat. This marks 515 B.C. when the Temple was rebuilt and Daniel began to eat bread and flesh and drink wine again (golden brown gibbous moon near Gemini's mouth). Daniel was "by the side of the great river" Hiddekel -- Tigris (Castor by the Milky Way).
In order for Daniel-Castor to have "LIFTED UP" his eyes (10:5), Gemini must have been at the bottom of the Zodiac chart -- 6 o'clock. He saw "a certain man "clothed in linen" (Milky Way), "loins ... girded with fine gold" "his body also like beryl" (sky blue) and "his face ... lightning" and "eyes as lamps of fire" "arms and feet like brass" (SUN in Sagittarius). "The men that were with me ... fled to hide" means the constellations of the Zodiac rotated down under the horizon. His face was turned to "corruption" -- black -- from fasting. Daniel had "no strength" (10:16-17) implying he couldn't maintain his balance or remain standing in one position -- like a man spinning inside a large rotating barrel.
Daniel then says, "I WAS ON MY FACE...TOWARD THE GROUND" (10:9), so Gemini must have been at the top of the Zodiac chart -- 12 o'clock. From the FULL MOON in Gemini to the SUN in Sagittarius is 180° years clockwise bringing us to 356 B.C. -- the birth of Alexander the Great -- a "great horn" (bow of Sagittarius) (11:3). The black Zodiac pictures three of his battles -- Granicus (334), Issus (333) and Gaugamela (331). The Milky Way is the River Granicus, Pinarus and the Persian battle line. It also represents a mole or land bridge to the Island of Tyre.
Then the hand of Pollux "touched me" (Castor) which "SET ME UPON MY KNEES" and "UPON THE PALMS OF MY HANDS" (10:10) which positioned Gemini at 11 o'clock. Adding 33° years clockwise to the SUN in Sagittarius, brings us to the CRESCENT in Capricorn in 323 B.C. when Alexander, the Greek goat-horn, died and his four horn-generals divided the empire (11:4).
Then Daniel is told to "STAND UPRIGHT" (10:11) -- Gemini's 8 o'clock position. Adding 77° years clockwise to 323 B.C. brings us to 246 B.C. A political marriage of Berenice (Cassiopeia), daughter of the Ptolemy king of Egypt, with Antiochus Theos, the Seleucid king of the north (Cepheus) had taken place. Antiochus divorced his first wife Laodice (Andromeda) and disinherited her two sons (Gemini), sending them all to Ephesus. Berenice brought an enormous dowry with her. The marriage took place and a son was born (Coma). But in 246 B.C., Ptolemy, her father died. The plan failed to bring peace between the two kingdoms because after the death of her father, Berenice was rejected by her husband in favor of his former wife, Laodice, who murdered Berenice and her son (Coma), her Egyptian attendants (Auriga, Perseus, Virgo, etc.), and, no longer trusting her husband, poisoned him also (11:6). Notice the poisoned LUNAR cup in Aries, with Cetus at the center of it all.
Then Daniel says,"I SET MY FACE TOWARD THE GROUND" (10:15) -- the 10 o'clock position for Gemini. Adding 313° clockwise to 246 B.C., is 66 A.D. when Cestius Gallus, the Roman governor of Syria, arrived on Tishri 22, the 8th day sabbath after the festival of Booths (October A.D. 66), to restore Roman rule over the rebellious Jewish people. According to Josephus, the Jewish nation had refused to offer sacrifices and prayer at their temple for the emperor's well being. This sacrifice was a sign of subjection to, and acknowledgement of, the ruler. Therefore, Jerusalem (including Christians) was surrounded by the legions of Cestius Gallus. The "Abomination of DESOLATION" (Matt. 24:15) is defined in Luke 21:20 as "Jerusalem compassed with ARMIES" that cause "DESOLATION." Cestius took the temple wall on Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. He burnt three divisions of the city. At this time he (Cestius) constituted the abomination that caused desolation standing where it ought not in 'a holy place' in the temple and the daily sacrifice had been removed since no one felt like offering up a sacrifice in front of Cestius. The Roman armies carried the images of their gods and emperors on their standards also. The principal figures on their ensigns were gold eagles, which, however obnoxious to the Jews, were at length planted in the midst of the holy city, and finally on the temple itself. As our Lord said, "Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt. 24:28). At that time, on that very day, "It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the besieged despaired of success, nor how courageous the people were for him, and he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing of any expectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace, he retired from the city, without any reason in the world" (Wars 2:19).
Jewish Zealots pursued and attacked the army ferociously, and, with little loss to themselves, slew of his army nearly six thousand men. On this day, Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. we have a fulfillment of the conditions for beginning the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11. Christians were given a brief opportunity to obey our Lord's advice and "depart out of the midst of" Jerusalem and "flee to the mountains" (Luke 21:20-22). "The whole body of the church at Jerusalem having been commanded by a divine Revelation ["Let us remove hence." -- Wars 6:5:3] ... removed from the city, and dwelt in a certain town beyond Jordan, called Pella" (Eusebius 3:5:2). Notice the LUNAR HOOK in the jaw of Pisces in 66 A.D. attached to a red radius fishing line. After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent of the Jews SWAM away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink (Wars of the Jews, book 2 ch. 20). Returning Zealots didn't tolerate "deserters," so escaping had to be done that very day. Fleeing to the hills in the Bible occurs just before the great tribulation.
"Christ Jesus said ‘When you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies (literally or in a supernatural sign), then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them who are in Judea (not just Jerusalem) flee to the mountains; and let them who are in the midst of it depart; and let not them that are in the countries enter into it’ (Luke 21:20-21).
How can Christians flee Jerusalem when Jerusalem is completely surrounded with armies? How did Christians in other parts of the country even know that armies were surrounding Jerusalem?
"On the twenty-first of the month Artemisium (the last day of the 2nd Passover season In A.D.66), there appeared a miraculous phenomenon, passing belief. Indeed, what I am about to relate would, I imagine, have been deemed a fable, were it not for the narratives of eyewitnesses and for the subsequent calamities which deserved to be so signalized. For before sunset throughout all parts of the country [everywhere throughout Judea] chariots were seen in the air and armed battalions hurtling through the clouds and encompassing the cities" (Wars of Jews 6.5.3).
And then, about two weeks later, Josephus tells us: "Moreover, at the feast which is called Pentecost, the priests on entering the inner court of the temple by night, as their custom was in the discharge of their ministrations, reported that they were conscious, first of a commotion and a din, and after that of a voice as of a host, We are departing hence" (War, 6.209,300).
With these two signs, what did the Christians in Jerusalem and Judaea do? Eusebius tells us that this is the time they began to leave the region because of the command of Christ and went to a city called Pella on the east side of the Jordan River (Ecclesiastical History, 3.5). They and the apostles obtained safety from the Great Tribulation that soon enflamed Jerusalem and Judaea.
Nero, having been informed of the defeat of Cestius, immediately appointed Vespasian, a man of tried valour, to prosecute the war against the Jews, who, assisted by his son Titus, soon collected at Ptolemais an army of sixty thousand men. From hence, in the spring of 67 A. D. he marched into Judea, every where spreading the most cruel havoc and devastation; For fifteen months Vespasian proceeded in this sanguinary career, during which period he reduced all the strong towns of Galilee, and the chief of those in Judea, destroying at least one hundred and fifty thousand of the inhabitants. In 69 A.D. Vespasian became emperor and returned to Rome. But Titus his son arrived in Jerusalem around 14th Nisan 70 A.D. (Antiquities 5.13.7) indicated by a red radius line sword killing a Passover sacrifice. Titus besieged the city with four legions of soldiers. The time between October of A.D. 66 and April of A.D. 70 is three and a half years or the "time, times and a half" "to scatter the power of the holy people" (12:7). The day on which Titus encompassed Jerusalem, was the feast of the Passover; at this season multitudes came up from all the surrounding country, and from distant parts, to keep the festival. Titus allowed the pilgrims into the city, but refused to let them leave, in order to deplete the rebel food reserves. Our Lord warned, "Let not them that are in the countries enter into Jerusalem" (Luke 21: 21).
The Great Tribulation of the Jews, Matthew 24, occurred during the period from the exit of Cestius until the arrival of Titus and his siege. Three walls surrounded Jerusalem on every side, except that which was deemed inaccessible, and there it was defended by one wall only. Romans took the first wall on the 15th day of the siege -- Iyyar 7. Romans took the second wall indicated by a red radius line -- Iyyar 16. A siege wall of pointed stakes all around the city (degree marks all around Zodiac) was built in three days by the end of Sivan 4. Escape was now impossible (Luke 19:43-44). Titus was able to make his inspection of this completed and fully garrisoned pointed-stake wall -- Sivan 5. Now Sivan 5, 70 A.D. is 1290 days after Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. Also, Sivan 4 was the last day of possible escape, before the wall was garrisoned and inspected by Titus. This was the first century fulfillment of Daniel 12:11. This pointed-stake wall was accompanied by a trench of 39 furlongs in circuit and strengthened with 13 towers. "Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee in on every side" (Luke 19:43). As no supplies whatever could now enter the walls, the famine spread rapidly.
After this, Josephus, in the name of Titus, earnestly exhorted John and his adherents to surrender; but the insolent rebel returned nothing but reproaches and imprecations, declaring his firm persuasion that Jerusalem, as it was GOD'S own city, could never be taken: thus literally fulfilling the declaration of Micah, that the Jews, in their extremity, notwithstanding their crimes, would presumptuously "lean upon the LORD, and say, 'Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us" (Micah 3:11). The third wall fell down -- Tammuz 2 -- indicated by a red radius line. Romans took tower of Antonia -- Tammuz 5. Those who had defected to the Romans and had been saved in Gophna, by Caesar's decree, were paraded around the wall unharmed -- Tammuz 19 -- indicated by the Eridanus River. Counting 1335 days from Cestius' invasion of the temple, on Heshvan 5, 66 A.D., which was the beginning of the flight to the hills, we end up on Tammuz 19, 70 A.D. This was also the day when Titus ordered the final assault on the temple to start at the 9th hour of the night (which was in the next Hebrew day -- Tammuz 19). A Roman soldier, urged, as he declared, by a divine impulse, regardless of the command of Titus climbed on the shoulders of another, and threw a flaming brand into the golden window of the Temple, which instantly set the building on fire -- Av 10 (cp. Jer. 52:12,13). Jerusalem was finally taken after nearly 5 months (ending Elul 8, 70 A.D.) (135 days from Nisan 23) indicated by a red radius line. The above is taken from Josephus 'Wars of the Jews' 2:19 and books 5 & 6. In book 6 chapter 2, 'in the meantime' of section 7 is 7 days, and the 'in the meantime' of section 9 is that day. Notice that the significant dates in the siege of Jerusalem correspond to the significant dates of Daniel chapters 10-12 Star Chart. Daniel himself became a symbol of the besieged and starving Jews. Our Lord pronounce a woe on "them that should give suck in those days" (Matt. 24: 19.). "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children; for, behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck" (Luke 23: 29). He was referring to cannibalism (Deut. 28:56-57). Finally, Elul 29 is traditionally the last day that Jews fast before Rosh HaShanah. Jerusalem survivors may have been given their first good meal on this date -- indicated by a red radius line and a lunar gibbous golden brown loaf of bread.
The gold melted and ran down through the crevices of the bricks so the Roman soldiers tore it down stone by stone to get the gold and the silver out. That fulfilled the words of Jesus when He said there wouldn't be a stone of the Temple left standing one on top of the other (Matt. 24:2). Then to further defile it, Titus, the Roman prince went to the high altar of the Temple, planted the standards of the Roman legions by it and then proceeded to sacrifice a pig on the altar in the Holy of Holies. He fulfilled Daniel 11:31 that he should defile the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice and place there the abomination. Romans then burned the Lower City. Approximately September 2, Romans assaulted Herod's Palace and entered the Upper City. Resistance ended on September 26. The 1290-day period (Daniel 12:11) runs from the abomination of Cestius (Heshvan 5, 66 A.D.) to finishing of the wall of pointed sticks ending escape (Sivan 4, 70 A.D.)(Luke 19:43 fulfilled). The 1335 days (Daniel 12:12) runs from the abomination of Cestius (Heshvan 5, 66 A.D.) to the parading of escapees from Jerusalem (Tammuz 19, 70 A.D. -- Eridanus).
This great city, which only five months before, had been crowded with nearly two million people, who gloried in its impregnable strength, was entirely depopulated, and levelled with the ground. Our Lord predicted that Rome would "lay her even with the ground," and "should not leave in her one stone upon another" (Luke 19:44). This fact is confirmed by Eusebius, who asserts that he himself saw the city lying in ruins. It is recorded, in the Talmud, and by Maimonides, that Terentius Rufus, captain of the army of Titus, absolutely ploughed up the foundations of the Temple with a ploughshare. "Therefore shall Zion, for your sakes (i.e. for your wickedness) be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the LORD's house as the high places of the forest" (Micah 3:12).
The progress of the Roman army is given in Lunar steps that encompass 148° days to break through the red radius line walls and conquer Jerusalem. Measure from the right side of each moon for the destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel again had "no strength" (10:16-17) implying he couldn't maintain his balance or remain standing in one position -- like a man spinning inside a large rotating barrel.
Josephus reckons not less than 1,100,000 Jews were destroyed during the siege, to which must be added, above 237,000 who perished in other places, and innumerable multitudes who were swept away by famine, and pestilence, of which no calculation could be made. Not less than 2,000 laid violent hands upon themselves. Of the captives the whole was about 97,000. Of the two great leaders of the Jews, who had both been made prisoners, John was doomed to a dungeon for life; while Simon, together with John, in triumph at Rome was scourged, and put to death as a malefactor. All above the age of seventeen were sent in chains into Egypt (Andromeda), to be employed there as slaves, or distributed throughout the empire to be sacrificed as gladiators in the amphitheatres (Perseus; Orion; Hercules; Bootes); whilst those who were under this age, were exposed to sale. Our Lord foretold, generally, that they should "fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations; and that Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). During every successive age and in all nations, the Jews have been constantly persecuted, enslaved, contemned, harassed, and oppressed; banished from one country to another, and abused in all; while countless multitudes have, at different periods, been barbarously massacred, particularly in Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; and in Russia, Germany, Hungary, France, and Spain. Jerusalem only recently became a possession of the Jews. It has been successively occupied by the Romans, Arabs, Franks, Turks, and British. It has always been trodden down.
Our Lord stated that there should "be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). Josephus declares its fulfillment in parallel language: "If the misfortunes," says he, "of all nations, from the beginning of the world, were compared with those which befell the Jews, they would appear far less in comparison;" and again, "No other city ever suffered such things, as no other generation, from the beginning of the world, was ever more fruitful in wickedness." These were, indeed, "the days of vengeance," that all things which are written (especially by Moses, Joel, and Daniel,) might be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22). Nor were the calamities of the Jews even now ended; for there were still other places to subdue; and our Lord had thus predicted, "wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt. 24:28).
After the destruction of Jerusalem seventeen hundred Jews who surrendered at Macherus were slain, and of fugitives not less than three thousand in the wood of Jardes. Titus having marched his army to Caesarea, he there, with great splendour, celebrated the birth-day of his brother Domitian; and according to the barbarous manner of those times, punished many Jews in honour of it. The number who were burnt, and who fell by fighting with wild beasts, and in mutual combats, exceeded two thousand five hundred. At the siege of Massada, Eleazer, the commander, instigated the garrison to burn their stores, and to destroy first the women and children, and then themselves. Dreadful as it is to relate, this horrid design was executed. They were in number nine hundred and sixty. Ten were chosen to perform the bloody work : the rest sat 'on the ground,' and embracing their wives and children stretched out their necks to the sword: one was afterwards appointed to destroy the remaining nine, and then himself. The survivor, when he had looked round to see that all were slain, set fire to the place, and plunged his sword into his own bosom. Nevertheless, two women and five children successfully concealed themselves, and witnessed the whole transaction. The period of time from the first attack of the Jews upon the Romans at Masada, in May of A.D. 66, to the final resistance of the Jews at Masada in April of A.D. 73, encompassed seven years. “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen ... Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground” (Isaiah 3:8, 25-26). The mournful and desolate condition of Judea, at this time, is exactly described by the prophet Isaiah: "The cities were without inhabitant, and the houses without a man, and the land was utterly desolate, and the LORD had removed men far away, and there was a great forsaking in the midst of the land." (Isa. 6:11-12). The black Zodiac pictures Jerusalem burned and the Milky Way is the white smoke. The Zodiac also pictures the "Judaea Capta" Roman coin which portrays a weeping woman (Andromeda) under a palm tree (Milky Way trunk with constellations as branches).
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The Destruction of Jerusalem
10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
11:1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:
8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
17 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, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.
19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
27 And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
  
Daniel 11 Prophecy
1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.
This prophecy was written in 538 B.C. in the time of Cyrus king of Persia (Dan. 10:1).
2 "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
The first was Cambyses (the Ahasuerus of scripture), who was the son of Cyrus [at the time this vision was given, Cyrus was king of Persia]; the second was Pseudo-Smerdis (the Magian), and the third Darius Hystaspes. These kings reigned from about 529 to 485 B.C. The fourth king was Xerxes, who was rich and attacked Greece in 480 B.C.. His navy was defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Salamis and he withdrew. The Greek states then became united. Xerxes reigned from 485 to 465 B.C. Herodotus talks about his vast wealth and greatness.
3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.
Alexander the Great defeated the Persians at Battles of Granicus (334), Issus (333) and Arbela (331).
4 After he has appeared, his empire 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 power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
After the death of Alexander the Great his kingdom was divided up among his four successors, not one of whom was his posterity. Cassander ruled Macedonia and Greece (west); Lysimachus ruled over Thrace (north); Seleucus ruled over Syria (east); Ptolemy ruled over Egypt (south). Four winds. Alexander's family became extinct. [Alexander was not yet born when Daniel wrote these verses]. Of Alexander's four kingdoms, only two are mentioned because they fought over Palestine. The King of the North and King of the South. Seleucids of Syria and Ptolemies of Egypt.
5 "The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.
In 315 BC Seleucus the satrap fled Babylon and joined the court of Ptolemy in Egypt where he became a nauarch (naval commander) charged with harassing coastal positions of Antigonus. In 312 BC Seleukos helped Ptolemy to victory over Antigonos' son, Demetrios Poliorketes ('the Besieger'), at the battle of Gaza. He used the confused aftermath of the battle to cover his return to and reestablishment in Babylon. Although there were several attempts to remove him, he was able to maintain control with the aid of the loyal Babylonians. During a brief period of peace with Antigonos Seleukos campaigned in the east, forcing the satraps there to recognize his suzerainty. He also concluded a treaty with Chandragupta Maurya of India who gave him a gift of 500 war elephants. In 305 BC Seleukos proclaimed himself king following the precedent established by his contemporaries: Antigonos, Ptolemy, Kassander and Lysimachos. Disturbed by the growing power of Antigonos in Asia Minor, the Levant and Greece, the latter three kings joined with Seleukos in a defensive coalition. At Ipsos in 301 BC the alliance was successful in defeating and killing Antigonos,
Ptolemy Soter of Egypt (323-285 B.C.) was strong and added to his dominions, but Seleucus Nicator (312-281 B.C.) was even stronger and conquered nearly two-thirds of the vast empire of Alexander the Great. Seleucus Nicator finally seized Syria in 301 B.C.
6 After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.
After a period of fifty or sixty years, an alliance was entered into by means of the marriage of Berenice, daughter of the king of Egypt, with Antiochus Theos, the king of the north. Antiochus divorced his wife Laodice and disinherited her two sons, sending them all to Ephesus. Berenice brought an enormous dowry with her. The marriage took place and a son was born. But in 246 B.C. Ptolemy her father died. The plan failed to bring peace between the two kingdoms because after the death of her father, Berenice was rejected by her husband in favor of his former wife, Laodice, who murdered Berenice and her son, her Egyptian attendants, and, no longer trusting her husband, poisoned him also.
7 "One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious.
This refers to Berenice's brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, successor of her father -- "her roots." Ptolemy Euergetes heard of his sister's peril and set out to rescue her. By concealing the fact that she was already dead, he was able to issue letters in the name of the queen of the north saying that he was to be favorably received. Thereby Ptolemy was able to conquer Asia as far east as Babylon. This victory came to nothing, however, because he was suddenly recalled to Egypt to deal with trouble at home.
8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.
This is exactly what Ptolemy Euergetes did. He recovered the gods which in the previous battle had been carried captive. Ptolemy carried 2400 idols into Egypt as spoil. The King of South outlived his rival and peace existed for a time.
9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.
When Antiochus the Great marched south through Palestine in 219 B.C., Ptolemy Philopater's minister called Sosibius, scared him off by spreading a rumor that a large Egyptian army was awaiting him. He then kept Antiochus occupied with endless peace negotiations, while at home he secretly trained a large army.
10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.
11 "Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.
These are the sons of Seleucus Callinicus, who were determined to avenge their father. Seleucus began preparations for another war but was assassinated and Antiochus the Great took over. Antiochus the Great came to power in 223 B.C. and invaded Syria, Palestine and concluded a treaty. Then renewed war in 217 B.C. and attacked Raphia near Gaza, a fortress on the border of Egypt. Ptolemy Philopater fought Antiochus the Great on the frontier of Egypt at a place known as Raphia, and Antiochus was severely defeated.
12 When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant.
Egyptians annexed Palestine to Egypt, but made a rash treaty with Syria which dissipated the victory. Philopater persecuted thousands of Jews in the city of Alexandria because he was struck with paralysis when trying to enter the the Temple at Jerusalem. The rest of Ptolemy's life was one of debauchery and bloodshed. He murdered his father and mother, his brother, and his wife, and died at last a victim of his own evil ways, leaving his throne to a child five years old.
13 For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.
After 14 years, the king of the north returned with a great army to fight against Egypt which had a weak king.
14 "In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success.
The king of Egypt, Ptolemy Epiphanes, had betrayers among his own following. He was a young man at this time, about 19 years old, and his guardian, the very man set over him to educate and train him, betrayed him; also wealthy Jews who fled to Egypt to build a temple there, rebelled against Egypt when Syria invaded, making an alliance with Antiochus the Great. These Jews were hoping to free themselves from Egyptian rule. These Jews were defeated under Ptolemy. The Egyptian general who caused their defeat was Scopas. He subdued Palestine and placed a garrison in Jerusalem. The vision is found in Isaiah 19:18-25. Also Philip the king of Macedonia entered into an alliance with the king of Syria against this king of Egypt. They agreed to partition Egypt.
15 Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand.
Antiochus the Great attacked Egypt in 198 B.C. and defeated Scopas at Panion (near the source of the Jordan), the general who had laid Palestine low, and took the city of munitions, namely Sidon. Antiochus went on to besiege General Scopas in Sidon -- the fortified city -- and, although three famous generals were sent from Egypt to set him free, Scopas was finally forced by famine to surrender. But instead of delivering Palestine from tyranny, the Syrian king merely made himself its master., so that Palestine only exchanged one bad master for another.
16 The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.
All of Palestine under Antiochus the Great.
17 He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.
In order to appease the anger of Ptolemy Epiphanes, the king of Egypt, he was given Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus the Great, for his bride. Cleopatra was then only a child of twelve, and the marriage was not brought about with any good intent, but was designed by Antiochus so that Cleopatra might betray her husband. That was the object of the marriage, but it did not succeed. Cleopatra, instead of falling in with her father's plans, sent an embassy of congratulation to the Romans, the enemies of Syria, and thus the plans of her father with regard to her marriage failed. Cleopatra aided her husband against her father.
18 Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him.
When thwarted in this particular design, Antiochus the Great invaded Asia Minor, and made war on some of the Aegean islands of the Mediterranean around Crete and Cyprus, conquering them temporarily; then the Roman consul Acilius, a military leader, defeated Antiochus at Thermopylae in 191 B.C.. Roman General Scipio in 189 B.C. defeated Antiochus overwhelmingly at Magnesia on the west coast of Asia Minor. Finally Antiochus the Great was compelled by Scipio to submit to the most humiliating conditions: pay 15,000 talents and give 12 selected hostages to Rome including his son. This son was afterwards the famous Antiochus Epiphanes.
19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
Two years later Antiochus the Great was killed while plundering a temple in Persia. After returning to Antioch -- a fort -- he was murdered at Elymais for plundering temple to pay Roman indemnity.
20 "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few days, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
At this verse, or even before, there are multiple fulfillment of the prophecy:
The successor of the king of the north was named Seleucus Philopater (king: 187-175), who impoverished the land, chiefly by enormous taxes, in order to have enough money to pay the tribute owing to the Romans. He drained Palestine of as much money as he could. In 2 Maccabbees 3 Seleucus attempted to plunder the Temple. He sent his envoy Heliodorus to the treasury. But the High Priest and the Jews prayed to God. Then "the Sovereign of spirits ... caused a great apparition, so that all who had presumed to come in with him were stricken with dismay at the power of God, fainted and were sore afraid." There appeared to them a horse with a terrible rider, clad in armour of gold, who rushed fiercely at Heliodorus, who was rendered prostrate, bereaved of all hope and succour, and was taken unconscious out of the Temple, which a little while before had been full of terror and alarm, but was now filled with joy and gladness. Heliodorus, humiliated and angry at his futile effort to rob the Temple, vented his wrath against his royal master and treacherously slew "the raiser of taxes," He was poisoned and died in his sleep -- not in open angry battle.
The king of the north is now Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor. In 4 B.C., Augustus sent out an "exactor" by ordering a registration, or census, most likely to learn the size of the population for purposes of taxation and conscription in the army. Because of this decree, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for registration, resulting in Jesus' birth (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:1-12). Augustus left Rome at the end of July. On 19th of August, after a short sickness, while traveling in Campania he died, neither in anger or battle.
21 "He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue."
Antiochus Epiphanes was nicknamed "Epimanes" by a play on words meaning "madman" for his mad antics beneath the dignity of a king. He would carouse with the lowest of the people, bathe with them in the public baths, and foolishly jest and throw stones at passers-by (Polybius 26:10). Also because he craftily supplanted Demetrius, the rightful heir, from the throne.
This is Antiochus IV Epiphanies (king 175-164) the brother of Seleucus IV and the 'vile person' of Bible prophecy. He bypassed all the rightful heirs to the throne. Seleucus IV son - Demetrius, his sister Cleopatra I of Egypt and her son - Ptolemy VI. He escaped from a prison in Rome where he was being held as a hostage. He returned to Syria and through bribes and corruption got himself into a position of power. Antiochus Epiphanes was not the rightful heir and the kingdom wasn't given to him. The rightful heir was his nephew, the son of the man who had just died. Demetrius, elder son of Antiochus the Great, had been sent to Rome in 176 B.C. as a hostage in exchange fror his uncle Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes was at that time a hostage in Rome; and he gained his freedom and the kingdom by bribery, and subtlety, and flattery. He persuaded the King of Pergamum to to conduct him to the throne of Syria with his army. He flattered Eumenes and Attalus of Pergamos to help him and, as he had seen candidates at Rome doing, canvassing the Syrian people high and low, one by one, with embraces (Livy 41:20).
22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.
He collected armies who quelled foes. All his enemies were overthrown before him, and he turned his attention also to the "prince of the covenant," namely the chief priest of the Temple of Jerusalem, Onias, whom he removed, and replaced by a man named Jesus, the highest bidder for the office, whose name was then changed to Jason, Jason being the Greek form of Jesus, as it was then the fashion to Hellenize everything (2 Macc. 4:7-8).
23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.
Antiochus dealt deceitfully with Rome and with the high priest. After Antiochus Epiphanes had made an alliance with Jason the priest, he broke it, and put another priest in his place, one named Menelaus who was a higher bidder (2 Macc. 4:23-27).
24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.
"In the honours he paid to the gods, he far surpassed all his predecessors, as we can tell from the temple of Olympian Zeus at Athens, and the statues round the altar at Delos" (Polybius 26, i, 11). Antiochus Epiphanes gained great provinces, the fattest of the land, Syria and Palestine. He squandered his riches, in large measure even among his very adversaries, in order that by this subtlety and flattery he might win them to his side. He also issued threats and used propaganda. Probably there has been no king in history who has so squandered his riches on every side to gain the goodwill of others. Antiochus tricked and deceived his nephew (Ptolemy VI (181-145)) the king of Egypt. He overran Egypt, something that none of his predecessors were able to do. He took them into his own possession largely because of Ptolemy's own minister's treachery - so much so that in verse 27 they held a peace conference.
25 "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.
Antiochus Epiphanes versus Ptolemy Philometer whose own people conspired against him. Antiochus Epiphanes reduced Egypt in four campaigns beginning in 173 B.C.
26 Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.
In 169 B.C. Antiochus invaded Egypt, and Ptolemy Philometer was not only defeated but taken prisoner by Syrians, betrayed by his friends who placed his younger brother on the throne in Alexandria. Conqueror and prisoner are uncle and nephew.
27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.
Antiochus pretended to take sides with Ptolemy against his younger brother, agreeing to restore him to the throne, but his real motive was to leave Egypt weak with two rival kings fighting eachother. They had a splendid banquet, which is recorded in history, and here they talked over matters,, and outwardly appeared to have entered into an alliance of goodwill and fellowship, while all the time they were plotting mischief. Uncle and nephew at banquet table each try to deceive the other. It was to no avail because, for when Antiochus returned home, the two brothers agreed to rule Egypt jointly.
28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
"On his return from the conquest of Egypt (in 169 B.C.) ... Antiochus marched with a strong force against Israel and Jerusalem. In his arrogance he entered the Temple and carried off the golden altar, the lampstand," and other temple treasures, "and took them all with him when he left for his own country" (1 Macc. 1:20-24). Antiochus persecuted Jews who rejoiced upon hearing false report that Antiochus died (1 Macc. 1:19-20). Antiochus Epiphanes, instead of keeping the peace he had apparently entered into at this banquet, turned all his attention toward Palestine and the Holy Covenant of Israel (2 Macc. 5:21-27). He plundered the Temple of eighteen hundred talents, and through him multitudes of Jews were slain.
29 "At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.
Antiochus made his second expidition against Egypt in 168 B.C. He didn't win as he had won before. King of North returned to Egypt when brothers learn of uncle's treachery. Romans demand withdrawal. Rome makes Egypt a protectorate.
30 Ships of Kittim will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
The ships of Kittim (Italy or Greece) were the ships of Macedonia, which had been taken by the Romans in battle, and were now used against Antiochus Epiphanes. Here the ships of Kittim brought ambassadors from Rome. The Roman Senate sent an envoy requesting him to retire from Egypt altogether; but he said that he would require a few days to think it over. Thereupon the envoy took a stick and marked out a large circle on the ground, saying that Antiochus Epiphanes should not leave that circle until he had made up his mind. Antiochus withdrew. Then he returned and helped apostate priests destroy true religion in Palestine. In 167 B.C., Antiochus sent an army under Apollonius to plunder Jerusalem and set up a garrison there (1 Macc. 1:29-40; 2 Macc. 5:24-27). Later that same year he sent an aged Athenian who, aided by those Jews who had adopted Greek customs, finally polluted the Temple by setting up a shrine dedicated to Olympian Zeus and he sacrificed a pig on the altar in the holy place. (1 Macc. 1:41-61; 2 Macc. 6:1-7).
31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
See Daniel 8:11-14. In 1 Maccabbees 1:37 we read that the army of Apollonius defiled the Temple. Pagan sacrifices were introduced by other agents sent by the king (1 Macc. 1:44; 2 Macc. 6:1-2). An Idol of Jupiter Olympus was set up. In 1 Maccabbees 1:54 we read that after "Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again ... and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude. And entered proudly into the sanctuary and took away the golden altar and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of the shewbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials and the censers of gold, and the veil and the crowns ... And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly ... many of the Israelites consented to his religion and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath. For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem ... that they should forbid burnt offerings ... profane the sabbath and festival days: and pollute the sanctuary ... set up altars ... of idols and sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean beasts ... leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness ... forget the law ... and whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, should die.... so they ... drove the Israelites into secret places ... And wheresoever was found with any the book of the testament ... they should put him to death.... Howbeit, many in Israel were fully resolved ... not to eat any unclean thing."
But this has a dual fulfillment in the Roman army. Josephus states that on no less than four occassions before the beginning of the Christian era, Roman armies invaded the Temple precincts and polluted the sanctuary (Ant. 14:4:4; 14:7:1; 14:16:3; Wars II:3:2-3). The period of time from the first attack of the Jews upon the Romans at Masada, in May of A.D. 66, to the final resistance of the Jews at Masada in April of A.D. 73, encompassed approximately seven years. The daily sacrifice ceased at about three and a half years into this seven year period. The abomination of desolation was manifested when the Roman armies surrounded the city.( Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Ibid., The Gospel of Mark, Ch. 13, p. 192).
The ultimate fulfilment occurred in 66-70 A.D. when the Roman Army set fire to the temple. Instead of, 'And forces shall be mustered by him' - an alternative reading says 'and apart from him shall arms stand' or apart from Antiochus Epiphanes and his Greek legions another force will stand up in the Holy land of Palestine and 'defile the sanctuary.' They shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. When Jesus told the disciples to watch for the abomination of desolation from Daniel's prophecy, it occurred 40 years later when the armies of the Roman prince Titus came and burned the city of Jerusalem and the temple to the ground. The gold melted and ran down through the crevices of the bricks so the Roman soldiers tore it down stone by stone to get the gold and the silver out. That fulfilled the words of Jesus when He said there wouldn't be a stone of the Temple left standing one on top of the other. Then to really defile it, Titus, the Roman prince went to the high altar of the Temple, planted the standards of the Roman legions by it and then proceeded to sacrifice a pig on the alter in the Holy of Holies. He fulfilled Daniel 11:31 that he should defile the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice and place there the abomination. In 135 A.D. another Jewish revolt was suppressed and Bar Kochbar was slain. No Jew was ever again allowed within sight of Jerusalem, which was razed to the ground, and a new Roman city with a temple dedicated to Jupiter was built in its place.
32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
Many Jews reject their covenant with God. But the righteous Jews took part in the Maccabbean Revolt in 166 B.C.. Hebrews 11:35 says, "Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection." The people who rejected the Covenant, historically according to this prophecy were the Jews of Jesus' day. For 40 years they were given the gospel of repentance, remission of sin etc. preached to them by the disciples and apostles and they rejected it. All through the Book of Acts you'll find the persecution of the early church, even before the Romans persecuted them. Everywhere Paul went the Jews followed and stirred the people up. They stoned them. They beat them. They hounded the servants of God to their death and martyrdom. They rejected Jesus, and God's offer of mercy. Notice that there is a category of people like the ones we find in 2nd Thessalonians and it says that God has blinded their eyes so that they won't even be able to understand the Truth. Once people reject the Truth they give themselves over to a seducing spirit. Other Christians resisted the pagan Roman idolatry and wouldn't sacrifice to the pagan Roman gods and were martyred. Churches were deprived of their places of worship and had their copies of the scriptures destroyed. Also, saint-worship, virgin-worship and gross superstition accompanied the Greek Christian worship (Rev. 9:20-21). First the Saracens tormented them, though they did not destroy them politically. Then the Turks were were allowed to overthrow the Greek empire after there was no reprentance. Other Christians resisted the Moslem heresy and were persecuted.
33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.
Saracens wiped out the African churches in the seventh century. Turks wiped out the eastern churches in the eleventh century
34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.
Jews were victorious in the Maccabbean Revolt. Christians received toleration in Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. They were free to worship their own way throughout the empire without persecution. It was fashionable for pagans to adopt the outward forms and profession of Christianity because it was the religion of the emperor. All the pagans came in. Pagan temples and practices were made "Christian."
35 Some of the wise will stumble, 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.
Among the Jews, Bar Kochbar (son of a star -- Nu. 24:17). Among the Christians, the Arian Heresy and Quarto-Deciman Controversy and the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. which changed Passover to Easter and The Council of Laodicea in 364 A.D. which changed the Sabbath into Sunday.
36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
"Above every god" can mean "above every elohim (judge)." The Greek Antiochus did what he pleased until God's anger turned away from Israel. Then when Rome became the king of the north, conquering Syria in 63 B.C., all the Roman Emperors required their subjects to worship and sacrifice to them. After 364 A.D. there were two joint emperors of the the Roman Empire, one reigning in Rome and one in Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperors often allowed the worship of images. But the Roman system culminated in the Pope who did what he pleased and was a king of the north (2 Th. 2:4). The Popes have been guilty of blasphemy
37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
The Pope doesn't regard God the Father or God the Son. He tries to take the place of both as the "vicar of Christ" and "God on earth." Neither does he regard marriage or sex, because he teaches celibacy (1 Timothy 4:1-3 -- forbidding to marry). This is a dual meaning. Both the Greek and Latin churches discouraged marriage. Furthermore, it was the desire of every Israelite woman to to become the mother of Messiah in fulfilment of Gen. 3:15 and so Messiah is this "desire of women," not Tammuz (Ez. 8:14) who is the false Christ. He doesn't regard any "god" (judge, religious or secular) but instead is head of church and state himself.
38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
He honors the gods of forces or the god that protects (guardian or patron saints) as well as honouring a god hitherto unknown, with gold, silver and precious stones whenever they worship the Host or wafer-god set up in a gold or silver monstrance adorned with precious stones. Both Roman and Byzantine churches worshipped images or icons of guardian saints or patron saints and honored them with gold, silver and precious stones. The worship of the Eucharist, the wafer and the wine, saying they have been turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Council of Trent proclaimed that the belief in transubstantiation is essential to salvation. CHRIST, flesh and blood, is really present. After the bread has been changed into 'Christ' by the priest, it is placed on a monstrance in the centre of a sunburst design. Before the monstrance Catholics bow and worship the little wafer as God, "making the word of God of none effect through your tradition" (Mark 7:13). The Monstrance was and is set in gold and silver and precious stones.
39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.
Since Arabs arose on the south of Judea and became masters of Egypt while Turks arose on the north of Judea and made Syria a province, it is appropriate to continue to label them respectively the king of the south and king of the north.
A Moslem fulfillment of Daniel 11:40-45 mentions the "King of the South" (Arab Moslem Empire) conquering "south" (Arabian Peninsula), "east" (Mesopotamia and Persia) and into the "pleasant land" (Syria and Palestine). Professing Eastern Christians were cast to the ground and stamped upon by Moslems. Between 634 and 644 A.D., the Caliph Omar was responsible for the destruction of some 4000 places of Christian worship. Christians under Moslem rule were restricted in their worship, trade, commerce, dress and travel. The Turks entered the "glorious land" but Ammon, Edom and Moab escaped the Ottoman Empire because they were wandering Arab tribesmen who already accepted Islam. Selim 1 left untouched those Arab lands east of Jordan. These lands were not included in the list of countries over which his successor Suliman the Magnificent claimed to rule. Egypt "shall not escape" when in 1516-1517 the Ottoman Emperor Selim I marched into Egypt at the head of an army of 150,000 men and defeated the Mamelukes, and stripped it of its wealth and moved 500 Egyptian families from Cairo to Constantinople. The book 'History of the Ottoman Turks' tells us that 'A thousand camels laden with gold and silver' carried the spoils of war from Egypt to Constantinople.In 1550 the Turks made Libya pay tribute. "All the princes who were before tributary or confederate to the late Sultan of Egypt even to the most mighty king of Ethiopia without delay entered into like subjection with the Turks" (Rycaut's Turkish History1:375). The Libyans and Ethiopians were at his steps. The Greek Empire was desolated by Arab and Turk in its later history. Both started little but became exceedingly great. Arabs came from Mecca and Medina in Arabia and took over Egypt in 640 A.D. to succeed the Ptolemy horn. Turks came from Chorassan -- the Seleucid horn -- and succeeded the Seleucids of the North.
Both the "King of the South" (Arab Moslem Empire) and the "King of the North" (Turkish Ottoman Empire) pushed at "him" -- apostate Christianity -- who has no "desire for women" (in other words celibate), speaks "against the God of gods" (blasphemes), honors the gods of forces or the god that protects (guardian or patron saints) as well as honouring a god hitherto unknown, with gold, silver and precious stones whenever they worship the Host or wafer-god set up in a gold or silver monstrance adorned with precious stones (Dan. 11:36-39). Both Roman and Byzantine churches worshipped images or icons of guardian saints or patron saints.
The Pope "shall exalt himself ... above every god" (11:36). The "King of the North" causes the banks of the Euphrates to "overflow" (Dan. 11:40). Verse 41 should read, "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many shall be overthrown." (in the Crusades) Gibbon says, "Jerusalem ... soon became the theatre of nations" (Decline 10:375). After the Turks entered into Judea, the Saracen, Turk and Catholic were all successively and alternately overthrown for two centuries as the Crusades ran their course. The "tidings out of the east and north" that "trouble him" are Russia's victories against the Ottoman Empire. From the mid-1700s onward, Russian attacks upon the northeast border of Turkey became increasingly frequent. Turkish armies and navies attacked Russia "with great fury" but unsuccessfully. In 1768, Turkish armies were badly defeated and in 1770 the Turkish navy was obliterated. In 1774 and 1777 more defeats occurred. In 1806 the Russians seized Moldavia and Wallachia, and destroyed another Turkish fleet. In 1826, Turkey surrendered all fortresses in Asia to the Russians. Russia again defeated the Turks in the Crimean War of 1853. During the First World War, the Turkish Empire established its military headquarters in Jerusalem at Mount Zion. He planted the "tents of his army" "between the seas and the glorious holy mountain" (Dan. 11:45). General Allenby drove them out in December 1917. Turks subsequently lost Baghdad, Damascus and Aleppo in 1918 -- three capitals of the pre-Roman King of the North. Deserted by their German allies, the Turks surrendered. He (Turkey) came "to his end and none" helped him (Dan. 11:45). Within six years the Ottoman Emperor had been deposed, the Caliphate abolished and Turkey declared a Republic under Mustapha Kemal.
After World War One in 1919 the League of Nations mandated to Great Britain the land of Palestine, Trans-Jordan and Iraq. This "Promised Land" was given to the British "from ... the river Euphrates even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be" (Deut. 11:24; Gen. 15:18). From the Hegira in 622 A.D. to 1844 A.D. when the Sultan of Turkey issued a Decree of Religious Toleration for Moslems who convert to Christianity was 1260 days (Dan. 12:7). From 622 A.D. till 1912 A.D. when the Balkan War occurred that greatly weakened Turkey is 1290 years. From 634 A.D. when the Caliph Omar, who conquered Jerusalem and established the Arab empire, began to rule, to 1924 when the Islamic Caliphate was abolished was 1290 years (Dan. 12:11). From 632 A.D. when the Caliphate was established to 1922 when the Turkish Ottoman Empire came to an end with the abdication of the Sultan was also 1290 years. From the Hegira in 622 A.D. to the surrender of Jerusalem in 1917 A.D. was 1335 (lunar) years (Dan. 12:12).
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