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Texts -- Daniel 11:1-45 (NET)

Context
11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede , I stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)
The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel
11:2 Now I will tell you the truth . “Three more kings will arise for Persia . Then a fourth king will be unusually rich , more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches , he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece . 11:3 Then a powerful king will arise , exercising great authority and doing as he pleases . 11:4 Shortly after his rise to power , his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised , for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these . 11:5 “Then the king of the south and one of his subordinates will grow strong . His subordinate will resist him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. 11:6 After some years have passed, they will form an alliance . Then the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement , but she will not retain her power , nor will he continue in his strength . She, together with the one who brought her, her child , and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time . 11:7 “There will arise in his place one from her family line who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully . 11:8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt , along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold . Then he will withdraw for some years from the king of the north . 11:9 Then the king of the north will advance against the empire of the king of the south , but will withdraw to his own land . 11:10 His sons will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s fortress . 11:11 “Then the king of the south will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north , who will also muster a large army , but that army will be delivered into his hand . 11:12 When the army is taken away , the king of the south will become arrogant . He will be responsible for the death of thousands and thousands of people, but he will not continue to prevail . 11:13 For the king of the north will again muster an army , one larger than before . At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies . 11:14 “In those times many will oppose the king of the south . Those who are violent among your own people will rise up in confirmation of the vision , but they will falter . 11:15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city . The forces of the south will not prevail , not even his finest contingents . They will have no strength to prevail . 11:16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases , and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land , and its annihilation will be within his power . 11:17 His intention will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom , and he will form alliances . He will give the king of the south a daughter in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. 11:18 Then he will turn his attention to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander will bring his shameful conduct to a halt ; in addition , he will make him pay for his shameful conduct . 11:19 He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land , but he will stumble and fall , not to be found again. 11:20 There will arise after him one who will send out an exactor of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom , but after a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or battle . 11:21 “Then there will arise in his place a despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred . He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit . 11:22 Armies will be suddenly swept away in defeat before him; both they and a covenant leader will be destroyed. 11:23 After entering into an alliance with him , he will behave treacherously ; he will ascend to power with only a small force . 11:24 In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished . He will distribute loot , spoils , and property to his followers , and he will devise plans against fortified cities , but not for long . 11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm against the king of the south with a large army . The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army , but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him. 11:26 Those who share the king’s fine food will attempt to destroy him, and his army will be swept away ; many will be killed in battle. 11:27 These two kings , their minds filled with evil intentions , will trade lies with one another at the same table . But it will not succeed , for there is still an end at the appointed time . 11:28 Then the king of the north will return to his own land with much property . His mind will be set against the holy covenant . He will take action , and then return to his own land . 11:29 At an appointed time he will again invade the south , but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did. 11:30 The ships of Kittim will come against him, leaving him disheartened . He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant . He will return and honor those who forsake the holy covenant . 11:31 His forces will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary , stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up the abomination that causes desolation . 11:32 Then with smooth words he will defile those who have rejected the covenant . But the people who are loyal to their God will act valiantly . 11:33 These who are wise among the people will teach the masses . However, they will fall by the sword and by the flame , and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time . 11:34 When they stumble , they will be granted some help . But many will unite with them deceitfully . 11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble , resulting in their refinement, purification , and cleansing until the time of the end , for it is still for the appointed time . 11:36 “Then the king will do as he pleases . He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods . He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed , for what has been decreed must occur . 11:37 He will not respect the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women . He will not respect any god ; he will elevate himself above them all . 11:38 What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold , silver , valuable stones , and treasured commodities . 11:39 He will attack mighty fortresses , aided by a foreign deity . To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor . He will place them in authority over many people , and he will parcel out land for a price . 11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south will attack him. Then the king of the north will storm against him with chariots , horsemen , and a large armada of ships . He will invade lands , passing through them like an overflowing river. 11:41 Then he will enter the beautiful land . Many will fall , but these will escape : Edom , Moab , and the Ammonite leadership . 11:42 He will extend his power against other lands ; the land of Egypt will not escape . 11:43 He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver , as well as all the treasures of Egypt . Libyans and Ethiopians will submit to him. 11:44 But reports will trouble him from the east and north , and he will set out in a tremendous rage to destroy and wipe out many . 11:45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas toward the beautiful holy mountain . But he will come to his end , with no one to help him.

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

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  • 25:12 The Edomites had taken vengeance on the Judahites rather than helping them (cf. 36:1-7; Gen. 25:30; 27:41-46; 32:4; Lam. 4:21-22; Amos 1:11-12).25:13 For this reason the Lord promised to send judgment on them. He would ...
  • 29:1 This is another dated prophecy. It came to Ezekiel in the year before his first oracle against Tyre (26:1), namely, in 587 B.C.29:2 The Lord directed His prophet to turn his attention to the south, to Pharaoh king of Egy...
  • What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
  • 38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
  • 38:14 The Lord wanted Ezekiel to tell Gog that on the day the Lord would call him up for service (v. 4) he would know that Israel dwelt securely in her own land.38:15-16 He and his allies would descend on Israel from the nort...
  • This message forms a fitting conclusion to the whole section of prophecies about Israel's restoration to the Promised Land (chs. 33-39) as well as to those about future invasion (chs. 38-39).39:25-26 The Lord promised to rest...
  • Theologically the book stresses the sovereignty of God."The absolute sovereignty and transcendence of God above all angels and men literally permeates the book."11"The theme running through the whole book is that the fortunes...
  • Daniel is a book of prophecy."Among the great prophetic books of Scripture, none provides a more comprehensive and chronological prophetic view of the broad movement of history than the book of Daniel. Of the three prophetic ...
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  • I. The character of Daniel ch. 1A. Historical background 1:1-2B. Nebuchadnezzar's training program for promising youths 1:3-7C. Daniel's resolve to please Yahweh 1:8-13D. The success of the test 1:14-16E. God's blessing of Da...
  • 1:17 In addition to favor with their overseers, God gave Daniel and his three friends the ability to master the subjects they studied and wisdom in these matters (cf. James 1:5). They may have thought that Nebuchadnezzar had ...
  • 5:29 Belshazzar kept his promise (v. 16) though Daniel's honors only lasted a few hours at most, typical of the honors of this world. The king's response is surprising. We might have expected him to execute Daniel for confron...
  • "As interpreted by conservative expositors, the vision of Daniel [in chapter 7] provides the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events to be found anywhere in the Old Testament."235"The vision's setting in the...
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  • 8:9 Daniel next saw a rather small horn (king, v. 23) grow out of one of the four horns (kingdoms, v. 22) that had replaced the single horn (the first king, v. 21) on the goat (Greece, v. 21). This horn is quite clearly diffe...
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  • "In the concluding four verses of Daniel 9, one of the most important prophecies of the Old Testament is contained. The prophecy as a whole is presented in verse 24. The first sixty-nine sevens is described in verse 25. The e...
  • We have observed that God's method of revealing what He wanted Daniel to know and to communicate about the future follows good pedagogy. God first gave the prophet a general picture of the future, first about humanity general...
  • 10:10-11 Evidently the "man"who touched Daniel and who proceeded to speak to him was the same one the prophet saw in the vision (vv. 5-6). The angel described Daniel as a man of high esteem (cf. 9:23; 10:19). We know that Dan...
  • 10:18 This is the third instance in this chapter of Daniel receiving strength from an angel who touched him (vv. 10, 16; cf. Heb. 1:14).400This human-appearing angel was probably the same one who touched Daniel's lips (v. 16)...
  • 10:20 The angel asked if Daniel knew why he had come to him. He apparently did this to focus the prophet's attention on the vision to follow anew since Daniel was quite weak.The angel informed Daniel that he needed to return ...
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  • 11:3 The mighty king who arose and did as he pleased proved to be Alexander the Great (cf. 2:32, 39b; 7:6; 8:5-8, 21). He was, of course, Greek. His invasion of the Persian Empire was in large part retaliation for Xerxes' att...
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  • Jesus proceeded to give His disciples a general picture of conditions just before He will return to end the present age and inaugurate His kingdom.24:7-8 Wars, famines, and earthquakes will anticipate the end of the present a...
  • Having given a general description of conditions preceding His return and the end of the present age, Jesus next described one particular event that would be the greatest sign of all.24:15 "Therefore"or "So"(Gr. oun) ties thi...
  • Having clarified what the sign of the coming destruction would not be, Jesus now explained what it would be. Matthew and Mark both described the destruction preceding Jesus' second coming. Luke recorded Jesus' teaching about ...
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  • vv. 14-15 Jude quoted loosely from a prophecy Enoch gave recorded in the Book of 1 Enoch.62Though God had not inspired that book, He led Jude to quote Enoch's prophecy.63This was a prophecy of God's judgment as it will take p...
  • 9:13 Someone near the four horns (symbolic of power) of the golden altar in heaven, probably the angel identified with it in 8:3, gave a command after the sixth angel blew the sixth trumpet (cf. 8:2, 6). Instead of seeing som...
  • The revelation of Satan's activity, which the song of the martyrs (vv. 10-12) interrupted, now resumes.12:13 Satan will concentrate his vengeance on Israelites during the Great Tribulation, under the sovereign control of God,...
  • The notable abilities of the beast are blasphemy against God and deception of people. These activities also marked Antiochus Epiphanes, the prototype of Antichrist (Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25; 12:7).13:5 God (cf. 6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5; ...
  • The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...
  • 17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the wom...
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  • 19:17 John saw next an angel standing in the sun, a conspicuous position in which all the birds could see him. He cried loudly for all the birds flying in midheaven to assemble (cf. Ezek. 39:4, 17). Jesus referred to the same...
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