The Book of Daniel, chapters 10–12
The Book of Daniel, chapters 10–12
In this revelation again it goes about the future of the Middle East.
In Dan.10:1 we can read “In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel.” Cyrus II the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Accordingly, Daniel received the revelation in 536 BC. The change of royal dynasties in the Middle East and the associated upheavals prompted Daniel to fast and reflect: “At that time I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks. I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks.” (Dan.10:2-3). And Daniel received a vision as an answer to his inner question about the fate of the people entrusted to him: “And have come to help you understand what is to happen to your people at the end of days. For there is a further vision for those days.” (Dan.10:14). The words “your people” refer not only to the Jews, since Daniel held one of the key positions in the Babylonian kingdom, and not only the Jews were entrusted to his authority. From the words “what is to happen to your people at the end of days” it can be concluded that this vision covers the entire history of the Middle East, and not only its Old Testament part, as most interpreters believe.
The words in Dan.10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” should be understood that the Lord used wars to resist Cyrus’ intervention in Babylon for 21 years. The latter is proven by the fact that the Lord left the Archangel Michael to replace Him for a while. Indeed, Cyrus became the king of Persia in 559 and conquered Babylon in 539 BC, i.e. 20-21 years later. This also confirms that a day in the books of Daniel is nothing but a year.
According to Prof. A. P. Lopukhin, “yamim – days in Hebrew – often means a one-year term (Lev.25:29; Judg. 17:10)». Therefore, it is not impossible that here and (or) in other places there is a mistake in the translation, since the translator simply could not imagine that the prophecy could extend to such distant times.
To further understand the prophecy, we must determine the time, which it refers to. In Dan.12:11-12 we can read: “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days. Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days.” That is, after this time the Contemporary empire will be destroyed, which “has held sway over the world with great terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression”:
“Listen and I will speak to you. The Most High says to you, are you not the one that remains of the four beasts that I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them? You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with great terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have lived on the earth with deceit. You have judged the earth, but not with truth, for you have oppressed the meek and injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed the homes of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the walls of those who did you no harm. Your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One. The Most High has looked at his times; now they have ended, and his ages have reached completion.” (3Ezr11:38-44).
If we accept that the Contemporary Empire may fall in 2023, as Ezr.3 suggests, then the year 688 (2023-1335) should be considered as the time when the regular burnt offering was rejected in the Middle East, which the prophecy refers to. By that time, on the ruins of the Temple of Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans, construction of the Islamic sanctuary the Dome of the Rock, began in 687-691, which embodies the coming of a new world religion. Thus, it can be assumed that the prophecy in Dan.11:31:
“Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate” —
covers the time from 688 to 1978 (the year 688 + 1290). That year, the Camp David Accords were concluded, which laid the basis for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, marked the victory of Israel and simultaneously caused an endless series of the Middle East conflicts until 2023 (688 + 1335).
It can be noticed that description of a new stage in the Middle East history begins after the words “shallarise”. That means the description between these words refers to one and the same kingdom.
Dan.11:2 describes the coming of Xerxes I and his Greek campaign, which marked the beginning of the Persian kingdom’s decline: “Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.” Professor A.P. Lopukhin interprets these lines as follows: “Since the revelation was given to the prophet in the third year of Cyrus (Dan.10:1), the three kings who shall arise in Persia are understood as three successors of Cyrus: Cambyses II (529-522), False Murdiz (Gaumata or False Bardia) (522-521), and Darius I Hystaspes (521-486), and the fourth king “shall be far richer than all of them” is famous Xerxes I (486-465), who is indeed known for countless riches and for the failed campaign against Greece, which ended with the complete defeat of the Persians at Salamis”.
Dan.11:3-4 describes the Greek empire of Alexander the Great and its division: “Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these.”
Dan.11.5-19 describes the history of the division of Alexander’s empire between Casander, Lysimachus, Selvek and Ptolemy. And subsequent confrontation of the most powerful kingdoms – the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian). The most complete interpretation of this period is provided by A.P. Lopukhin.
Below, there is an abstract from his interpretation of the lines of Dan.11.5-19, covering the period from 323 BC to 190 BC:
Dan.11:5 Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm.
Dan.11:6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her in those times.
Of the four kingdoms raised from Alexander the Great’s monarchy, the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian) grew stronger over time were constantly struggling with each other. Palestine, located in between, was also involved in their struggles. Being subject to Alexander the Great before, it repeatedly passed from one hand to another: from Syria to Egypt and back. The Revelation concerns only these two kingdoms, as the ones that had contact with God’s people; the history of the other two – the Thracian and Macedonian – is omitted in it. Alexander the Great’s successors on the thrones of Egypt and Syria were Ptolemy Lagov (323-285) and Seleucus Nicator.
The former, the “southern king”, soon became a strong and wealthy sovereign; however, SeleucusNicator, who ruled from Phrygia to the Indus, didn’t fall behind his opponent, whom he had to fight with trying to attract the Jewish people subordinate to Ptolemy. A more or less successful attempt of the lasting rapprochement between the two kings, the “northern” and the “southern”, was made under Ptolemy Lagov’s successor Ptolemy II Philadelphusand Seleucus’ second successor Antiochus Theos. Being eager to put the struggle to an end, Ptolemy Philadelphus married his daughter Verenika to Antiochus, giving Palestine, among other things, as a dotal property. At that time, Antiochus was already married to Laodice and had two sons with her – Seleucus Callinicus and Antiochus. Although he removed Laodice and her children from the court before marrying Verenika, she returned after the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Being afraid of her rival, she poisoned her husband, ordered to kill Verenika and her infant son, and enthroned her son from Theos, Seleucus Callinicus. Thus, “the daughter of the king of the south... could not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure.” The attempt to bring the kingdoms closer ended in vain.
Dan.11:7 A branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail.
Dan.11:8 Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north;
Dan.11:9 then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south but will return to his own land.
The avenger for Verenika was the “branch from her roots” – Verenika’s brother, the son and successor of Ptolemy Philadelphus – Ptolemy Everget. He killed the murderer and her rival Laodice and then took possession of the regions belonging to Syria: Cilicia, Pamphylia, Ionia, Palestine, and so on. It was only a rebellion in Egypt that put an end to the formidable invasion of the “southern” king. When returning home, Ptolemy seized countless treasures from the conquered regions, 40,000 silver talents and 2,500 precious vessels and idols, including the idols brought from Egypt to Persia by Cambyses. It is for returning the latter that Ptolemy got his name Everget. While he was mastering the outbreak in Egypt, Seleucus pulled the regions of Asia Minor to his side again and started a campaign against Egypt. However, he was severely defeated in a decisive battle and returned to Antiochia with few companions only.
Dan.11:10 His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.
Dan.11:11 Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy.
Dan.11:12 When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.
Dan.11:13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.
After the death of Callinicus in the Parthians’ captivity, his son Seleucus Ceraunus ascended to the throne. Two years after his accession he was poisoned by his entourage and did not have time to do anything against Egypt. Hs brother Antiochus followed Ceraunus. Eager to conquer Kele-Syria and Phoenicia, he began a war against the king of Egypt Ptolemy Philopator. During this war he took possession of Selecia at Orontes, Tyre, and Ptolemais, twice reached the city of Dora located two miles north of Caesarea, besieged it, and finally concluded a four-month truce. After the war resumed, he started a new campaign against Egypt in 218, during which he locked the Egyptian troops in Sidon and took possession of Gilead, Samaria, and Phoenicia. But in early 217, Ptolemy Philopatormarched against Antiochus with an army consisting of 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 73 elephants and inflicted a terrible defeat on him at Rafia near Gaza. Having lost 10,000 infantry and 300 cavalry in the battle, Antiochus fleed from death; however, the war ended with peace. 18 years after the defeat at Raphia, Antiochus took advantage of the young age of Ptolemy Philopator’s successor Ptolemy Epiphanes, the unrest in Egypt resulting from the cruelty and poor rule of the regent Agathocles, and, finally, supported by Philip of Macedon, and marched against Egypt and managed to take possession of Phoenicia and Southern Syria first of all (Dan.11:16).
Dan.11:14 In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.
Dan.11:15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist.
Dan.11:16 But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power.
A part of the Palestinian Jews, who forgot the benefits the Ptolemies provided to them, took Antiochus’ side in his war against Egypt. They went out to meet Antiochus, joined his troops, and helped them to attack the garrison left on the Jerusalem Mountain by the Egyptian commander Scopus. But the alliance with the Syrian king brought nothing but harm to the Jews. Antiochus began his conquest of the Egyptian regions from Palestine, which was in the southern king’s possession; he took many cities subject to Egypt, including Jerusalem. “The forces of the south” – Egyptian generals with the picked troops – could not resist him. It was Scopus, who almost managed to conquer Kele-Siria but suffered a severe defeat at Ponsala in 198, at the head of the river Jordan, which again brought the whole Kele-Syria and Palestine to Gaza into Antiochus’ hands.
Dan.11:17 He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage.
Eager to seize the Egyptian possessions of the “southern king”, if only possible, Antiochus resorted to cunning. After defeating Palestine, he made peace with Ptolemy and engaged his daughter Cleopatra to him, a seven-year-old boy, hoping that she would help him destroy the young king and seize Egypt. But Ptolemy and his nobles revealed the plans of Antiochus and were very careful; at the same time, Cleopatra clearly favored her husband, but not her father. Thanks to all this, Antiochus’ insidious plans did “not succeed” and brought him no advantage.
Dan.11:18 Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.
Dan.11:19 Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
Having failed to conquer Egypt, Antiochus satisfied his passion for conquest with a successful campaign against the islands and coastal regions of Asia Minor in 197: he conquered Rhodes, Samos, Colophon, Phocea, and so on. The Roman consul Scipio Nasica (“a commander”) and his brother Scipio Africanus put an end to his victories. They were sent by the Roman government to protect the islands under the Roman protectorate and inflicted a terrible defeat on Antiochus at Magnesia in 190. Upon concluding a humiliating peace with the victors, he returned to his land and soon died during the outrage that broke out because the king robbed the temple of Zeus, or Belos, in the city of Elimais, to south of the Caspian Sea.”
It should be noted that A.P. Lopukhin states that “since the battle of Salamis (480 BC), the Persian kingdom definitely began to decline and Greece was becoming a world power.” However, he immediately claims: “Of the four kingdoms araised from Alexander the Great’s monarchy, the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian) grew stronger over time were constantly struggling with each other.” Thus, Syria and Egypt become the centers of power, but not Greece. So, it turns out that Alexander the Great just seized power in the Babylonian kingdom.
Further interpretation of A.P. Lopukhin seems strained. First, it does not cover the entire history of the Middle East. Second, it looks extremely asymmetrical. Thus, the lines in Dan.11:2-20 cover the period between 529-190 BC, while the lines in Dan.11:21-45 include the period 190-164 BC. He either does not give a clear explanation of 1290 and 1335 days in Dan.12:11-12.
Dan.11:20 describes the Roman Empire: “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle.” From a political point of view, many regions of the Roman Empire were absolutely separate states, although subject to Rome.
Dan.11:21-40 describes the coming of Islam and the Arab Caliphate, as well as characterizes them: “In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well.” (Dan.11:21-22). “An alliance is made with” “the prince of the covenant” in Dan.11:22-23, should probably be understood as Islam copying many aspects of the Old and New Testaments. Dan.11:37 provides an exhaustive hallmark of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad: “He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all.”
Dan.11:25-28 tells us about Caliph Abu Bakr’s war with apostates against the rebellious Arab tribes in 632-633, right after the Islamic prophet Muhammad died: “He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land.”
In the context of the above-suggested assumption, the words in Dan.11:27: “The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed” should be understood as the division of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites, who believed that after the death of Muhammad his power should belong to his descendants only. As we see, this division persists to this day and, as it was said, will persist until the end (“at the time appointed”).
Dan.11:29-31 speaks about the coming of the Umayyad dynasty and transformation of the Arab Caliphate into a hereditary monarchy with its first ancestor Muawiyah I. Muawiyah continued the war against Byzantium in North Africa, where his armies captured Libya. He also besieged Constantinople in 674-677. In 678, Muawiyah’s fleet was burned at Constantinople. The lines in Dan11:30 “For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw.” most likely refer to this moment. As we already know, in 687 the construction of the Dome of the Rock began.
Dan.11:32-35 speaks of the oppression of Christians by the new religion and the crusades: “He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.” The words “When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely”, certainly refer to the crusaders, many of whom pursued their own selfish goals.
В Dan.11:40-45 describes the conquest of Persia, Egypt, and the entire Middle East by the Ottoman Empire and its subsequent collapse in 1922.
В Dan.11:40 describes the spreading power of the Ottoman Empire over Persia: “At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood.” Here, “the king of the south” is Ismail I, the shah of the Safavid state, which included the territories of modern Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, eastern Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, as well as parts of Pakistan, southern Uzbekistan, eastern Syria, and southern Russia (Derbent). In the early XVI century, Ismail I assigned Persia to the Safavid state. Being a Shiite and a Turk, he also sympathized with the Turkmen tribes living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Support of the Shahkulu uprising (April 9, 1511 – July 2, 1511) against the Ottoman Empire cost him defeat in the battle of Chaldiran in 1514, when the “king of the north” sultan Selim I conquered Kurdistan and then the entire of Mesopotamia.
Dan.11:41-43 describes the expansion of the Ottoman Empire during the Ottoman-Mamluk war of 1516-1517: “He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train.” As the result of the campaign, Syria and Egypt were annexed by the Ottoman Empire. Under Suleiman I, the Turkish fleet captured Tripoli in August 1551, and soon the whole Tripolitania (modern Libya) submitted to Suleiman. The Turks took possession of Massawa, the main port of Ethiopia in 1557, and by 1559 they had conquered Eritrea and took complete control of the Red Sea. The words in Dan.11:41 are difficult to interpret: “He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power.” Indeed, on his way to Egypt in 1517, sultan Selim I visited the holy places of Muslims in Jerusalem (“he shall come into the beautiful land”). It is difficult to say whether Edom, Moab and the Ammonites were included into the Ottoman Empire. These peoples could have moved a little to the east – to the lands not covered by the empire’s power.
Dan.11:44-45 describes the Arab rebellion in 1916-1918 (“reports from the east") and the defeats on the North Caucasian front during World War I (“reports from the north”) and the subsequent collapse of the empire in 1922: “But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.”
Dan.12:1 describes a difficult time, whose characteristics are similar to the time of the last beast’s reign: “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.”
According to Dan.12:11, this characteristic refers to the period from 1922 to 1978, which is an endless series of wars in the Middle East: “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.” However, Dan.12:12 promises that the next forty-five years will be the most dramatic in the history of the Middle East: “Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days.”
In this revelation again it goes about the future of the Middle East.
In Dan.10:1 we can read “In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel.” Cyrus II the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Accordingly, Daniel received the revelation in 536 BC. The change of royal dynasties in the Middle East and the associated upheavals prompted Daniel to fast and reflect: “At that time I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks. I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks.” (Dan.10:2-3). And Daniel received a vision as an answer to his inner question about the fate of the people entrusted to him: “And have come to help you understand what is to happen to your people at the end of days. For there is a further vision for those days.” (Dan.10:14). The words “your people” refer not only to the Jews, since Daniel held one of the key positions in the Babylonian kingdom, and not only the Jews were entrusted to his authority. From the words “what is to happen to your people at the end of days” it can be concluded that this vision covers the entire history of the Middle East, and not only its Old Testament part, as most interpreters believe.
The words in Dan.10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” should be understood that the Lord used wars to resist Cyrus’ intervention in Babylon for 21 years. The latter is proven by the fact that the Lord left the Archangel Michael to replace Him for a while. Indeed, Cyrus became the king of Persia in 559 and conquered Babylon in 539 BC, i.e. 20-21 years later. This also confirms that a day in the books of Daniel is nothing but a year.
According to Prof. A. P. Lopukhin, “yamim – days in Hebrew – often means a one-year term (Lev.25:29; Judg. 17:10)». Therefore, it is not impossible that here and (or) in other places there is a mistake in the translation, since the translator simply could not imagine that the prophecy could extend to such distant times.
To further understand the prophecy, we must determine the time, which it refers to. In Dan.12:11-12 we can read: “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days. Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days.” That is, after this time the Contemporary empire will be destroyed, which “has held sway over the world with great terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression”:
“Listen and I will speak to you. The Most High says to you, are you not the one that remains of the four beasts that I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them? You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with great terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have lived on the earth with deceit. You have judged the earth, but not with truth, for you have oppressed the meek and injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed the homes of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the walls of those who did you no harm. Your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One. The Most High has looked at his times; now they have ended, and his ages have reached completion.” (3Ezr11:38-44).
If we accept that the Contemporary Empire may fall in 2023, as Ezr.3 suggests, then the year 688 (2023-1335) should be considered as the time when the regular burnt offering was rejected in the Middle East, which the prophecy refers to. By that time, on the ruins of the Temple of Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans, construction of the Islamic sanctuary the Dome of the Rock, began in 687-691, which embodies the coming of a new world religion. Thus, it can be assumed that the prophecy in Dan.11:31:
“Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate” —
covers the time from 688 to 1978 (the year 688 + 1290). That year, the Camp David Accords were concluded, which laid the basis for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, marked the victory of Israel and simultaneously caused an endless series of the Middle East conflicts until 2023 (688 + 1335).
It can be noticed that description of a new stage in the Middle East history begins after the words “shallarise”. That means the description between these words refers to one and the same kingdom.
Dan.11:2 describes the coming of Xerxes I and his Greek campaign, which marked the beginning of the Persian kingdom’s decline: “Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.” Professor A.P. Lopukhin interprets these lines as follows: “Since the revelation was given to the prophet in the third year of Cyrus (Dan.10:1), the three kings who shall arise in Persia are understood as three successors of Cyrus: Cambyses II (529-522), False Murdiz (Gaumata or False Bardia) (522-521), and Darius I Hystaspes (521-486), and the fourth king “shall be far richer than all of them” is famous Xerxes I (486-465), who is indeed known for countless riches and for the failed campaign against Greece, which ended with the complete defeat of the Persians at Salamis”.
Dan.11:3-4 describes the Greek empire of Alexander the Great and its division: “Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these.”
Dan.11.5-19 describes the history of the division of Alexander’s empire between Casander, Lysimachus, Selvek and Ptolemy. And subsequent confrontation of the most powerful kingdoms – the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian). The most complete interpretation of this period is provided by A.P. Lopukhin.
Below, there is an abstract from his interpretation of the lines of Dan.11.5-19, covering the period from 323 BC to 190 BC:
Dan.11:5 Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm.
Dan.11:6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her in those times.
Of the four kingdoms raised from Alexander the Great’s monarchy, the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian) grew stronger over time were constantly struggling with each other. Palestine, located in between, was also involved in their struggles. Being subject to Alexander the Great before, it repeatedly passed from one hand to another: from Syria to Egypt and back. The Revelation concerns only these two kingdoms, as the ones that had contact with God’s people; the history of the other two – the Thracian and Macedonian – is omitted in it. Alexander the Great’s successors on the thrones of Egypt and Syria were Ptolemy Lagov (323-285) and Seleucus Nicator.
The former, the “southern king”, soon became a strong and wealthy sovereign; however, SeleucusNicator, who ruled from Phrygia to the Indus, didn’t fall behind his opponent, whom he had to fight with trying to attract the Jewish people subordinate to Ptolemy. A more or less successful attempt of the lasting rapprochement between the two kings, the “northern” and the “southern”, was made under Ptolemy Lagov’s successor Ptolemy II Philadelphusand Seleucus’ second successor Antiochus Theos. Being eager to put the struggle to an end, Ptolemy Philadelphus married his daughter Verenika to Antiochus, giving Palestine, among other things, as a dotal property. At that time, Antiochus was already married to Laodice and had two sons with her – Seleucus Callinicus and Antiochus. Although he removed Laodice and her children from the court before marrying Verenika, she returned after the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Being afraid of her rival, she poisoned her husband, ordered to kill Verenika and her infant son, and enthroned her son from Theos, Seleucus Callinicus. Thus, “the daughter of the king of the south... could not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure.” The attempt to bring the kingdoms closer ended in vain.
Dan.11:7 A branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail.
Dan.11:8 Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north;
Dan.11:9 then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south but will return to his own land.
The avenger for Verenika was the “branch from her roots” – Verenika’s brother, the son and successor of Ptolemy Philadelphus – Ptolemy Everget. He killed the murderer and her rival Laodice and then took possession of the regions belonging to Syria: Cilicia, Pamphylia, Ionia, Palestine, and so on. It was only a rebellion in Egypt that put an end to the formidable invasion of the “southern” king. When returning home, Ptolemy seized countless treasures from the conquered regions, 40,000 silver talents and 2,500 precious vessels and idols, including the idols brought from Egypt to Persia by Cambyses. It is for returning the latter that Ptolemy got his name Everget. While he was mastering the outbreak in Egypt, Seleucus pulled the regions of Asia Minor to his side again and started a campaign against Egypt. However, he was severely defeated in a decisive battle and returned to Antiochia with few companions only.
Dan.11:10 His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.
Dan.11:11 Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy.
Dan.11:12 When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.
Dan.11:13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.
After the death of Callinicus in the Parthians’ captivity, his son Seleucus Ceraunus ascended to the throne. Two years after his accession he was poisoned by his entourage and did not have time to do anything against Egypt. Hs brother Antiochus followed Ceraunus. Eager to conquer Kele-Syria and Phoenicia, he began a war against the king of Egypt Ptolemy Philopator. During this war he took possession of Selecia at Orontes, Tyre, and Ptolemais, twice reached the city of Dora located two miles north of Caesarea, besieged it, and finally concluded a four-month truce. After the war resumed, he started a new campaign against Egypt in 218, during which he locked the Egyptian troops in Sidon and took possession of Gilead, Samaria, and Phoenicia. But in early 217, Ptolemy Philopatormarched against Antiochus with an army consisting of 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 73 elephants and inflicted a terrible defeat on him at Rafia near Gaza. Having lost 10,000 infantry and 300 cavalry in the battle, Antiochus fleed from death; however, the war ended with peace. 18 years after the defeat at Raphia, Antiochus took advantage of the young age of Ptolemy Philopator’s successor Ptolemy Epiphanes, the unrest in Egypt resulting from the cruelty and poor rule of the regent Agathocles, and, finally, supported by Philip of Macedon, and marched against Egypt and managed to take possession of Phoenicia and Southern Syria first of all (Dan.11:16).
Dan.11:14 In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.
Dan.11:15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist.
Dan.11:16 But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power.
A part of the Palestinian Jews, who forgot the benefits the Ptolemies provided to them, took Antiochus’ side in his war against Egypt. They went out to meet Antiochus, joined his troops, and helped them to attack the garrison left on the Jerusalem Mountain by the Egyptian commander Scopus. But the alliance with the Syrian king brought nothing but harm to the Jews. Antiochus began his conquest of the Egyptian regions from Palestine, which was in the southern king’s possession; he took many cities subject to Egypt, including Jerusalem. “The forces of the south” – Egyptian generals with the picked troops – could not resist him. It was Scopus, who almost managed to conquer Kele-Siria but suffered a severe defeat at Ponsala in 198, at the head of the river Jordan, which again brought the whole Kele-Syria and Palestine to Gaza into Antiochus’ hands.
Dan.11:17 He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage.
Eager to seize the Egyptian possessions of the “southern king”, if only possible, Antiochus resorted to cunning. After defeating Palestine, he made peace with Ptolemy and engaged his daughter Cleopatra to him, a seven-year-old boy, hoping that she would help him destroy the young king and seize Egypt. But Ptolemy and his nobles revealed the plans of Antiochus and were very careful; at the same time, Cleopatra clearly favored her husband, but not her father. Thanks to all this, Antiochus’ insidious plans did “not succeed” and brought him no advantage.
Dan.11:18 Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.
Dan.11:19 Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
Having failed to conquer Egypt, Antiochus satisfied his passion for conquest with a successful campaign against the islands and coastal regions of Asia Minor in 197: he conquered Rhodes, Samos, Colophon, Phocea, and so on. The Roman consul Scipio Nasica (“a commander”) and his brother Scipio Africanus put an end to his victories. They were sent by the Roman government to protect the islands under the Roman protectorate and inflicted a terrible defeat on Antiochus at Magnesia in 190. Upon concluding a humiliating peace with the victors, he returned to his land and soon died during the outrage that broke out because the king robbed the temple of Zeus, or Belos, in the city of Elimais, to south of the Caspian Sea.”
It should be noted that A.P. Lopukhin states that “since the battle of Salamis (480 BC), the Persian kingdom definitely began to decline and Greece was becoming a world power.” However, he immediately claims: “Of the four kingdoms araised from Alexander the Great’s monarchy, the northern (Syrian) and the southern (Egyptian) grew stronger over time were constantly struggling with each other.” Thus, Syria and Egypt become the centers of power, but not Greece. So, it turns out that Alexander the Great just seized power in the Babylonian kingdom.
Further interpretation of A.P. Lopukhin seems strained. First, it does not cover the entire history of the Middle East. Second, it looks extremely asymmetrical. Thus, the lines in Dan.11:2-20 cover the period between 529-190 BC, while the lines in Dan.11:21-45 include the period 190-164 BC. He either does not give a clear explanation of 1290 and 1335 days in Dan.12:11-12.
Dan.11:20 describes the Roman Empire: “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle.” From a political point of view, many regions of the Roman Empire were absolutely separate states, although subject to Rome.
Dan.11:21-40 describes the coming of Islam and the Arab Caliphate, as well as characterizes them: “In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well.” (Dan.11:21-22). “An alliance is made with” “the prince of the covenant” in Dan.11:22-23, should probably be understood as Islam copying many aspects of the Old and New Testaments. Dan.11:37 provides an exhaustive hallmark of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad: “He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all.”
Dan.11:25-28 tells us about Caliph Abu Bakr’s war with apostates against the rebellious Arab tribes in 632-633, right after the Islamic prophet Muhammad died: “He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land.”
In the context of the above-suggested assumption, the words in Dan.11:27: “The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed” should be understood as the division of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites, who believed that after the death of Muhammad his power should belong to his descendants only. As we see, this division persists to this day and, as it was said, will persist until the end (“at the time appointed”).
Dan.11:29-31 speaks about the coming of the Umayyad dynasty and transformation of the Arab Caliphate into a hereditary monarchy with its first ancestor Muawiyah I. Muawiyah continued the war against Byzantium in North Africa, where his armies captured Libya. He also besieged Constantinople in 674-677. In 678, Muawiyah’s fleet was burned at Constantinople. The lines in Dan11:30 “For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw.” most likely refer to this moment. As we already know, in 687 the construction of the Dome of the Rock began.
Dan.11:32-35 speaks of the oppression of Christians by the new religion and the crusades: “He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.” The words “When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely”, certainly refer to the crusaders, many of whom pursued their own selfish goals.
В Dan.11:40-45 describes the conquest of Persia, Egypt, and the entire Middle East by the Ottoman Empire and its subsequent collapse in 1922.
В Dan.11:40 describes the spreading power of the Ottoman Empire over Persia: “At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood.” Here, “the king of the south” is Ismail I, the shah of the Safavid state, which included the territories of modern Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, eastern Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, as well as parts of Pakistan, southern Uzbekistan, eastern Syria, and southern Russia (Derbent). In the early XVI century, Ismail I assigned Persia to the Safavid state. Being a Shiite and a Turk, he also sympathized with the Turkmen tribes living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Support of the Shahkulu uprising (April 9, 1511 – July 2, 1511) against the Ottoman Empire cost him defeat in the battle of Chaldiran in 1514, when the “king of the north” sultan Selim I conquered Kurdistan and then the entire of Mesopotamia.
Dan.11:41-43 describes the expansion of the Ottoman Empire during the Ottoman-Mamluk war of 1516-1517: “He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train.” As the result of the campaign, Syria and Egypt were annexed by the Ottoman Empire. Under Suleiman I, the Turkish fleet captured Tripoli in August 1551, and soon the whole Tripolitania (modern Libya) submitted to Suleiman. The Turks took possession of Massawa, the main port of Ethiopia in 1557, and by 1559 they had conquered Eritrea and took complete control of the Red Sea. The words in Dan.11:41 are difficult to interpret: “He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power.” Indeed, on his way to Egypt in 1517, sultan Selim I visited the holy places of Muslims in Jerusalem (“he shall come into the beautiful land”). It is difficult to say whether Edom, Moab and the Ammonites were included into the Ottoman Empire. These peoples could have moved a little to the east – to the lands not covered by the empire’s power.
Dan.11:44-45 describes the Arab rebellion in 1916-1918 (“reports from the east") and the defeats on the North Caucasian front during World War I (“reports from the north”) and the subsequent collapse of the empire in 1922: “But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.”
Dan.12:1 describes a difficult time, whose characteristics are similar to the time of the last beast’s reign: “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.”
According to Dan.12:11, this characteristic refers to the period from 1922 to 1978, which is an endless series of wars in the Middle East: “From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.” However, Dan.12:12 promises that the next forty-five years will be the most dramatic in the history of the Middle East: “Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days.”