The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Daniel 11: The Jealous Ex-Wife

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Daniel 11 Continued
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

The Jealous Ex-Wife

Vic Batista: We continue to make our way through Daniel 11 as God’s mighty angel shares with Daniel the prophetic events that will follow over the next 400 years. Spoiler! These events lead up to the coming of the true King of King. Daniel 11:4 revealed:

“And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.”

Nathan Jones: This king whose empire was split four ways history revealed to be Alexander the Great. Upon his death, and with no living heir, Alexander’s Greek Empire split into four regions ruled by four of his generals. Two of these generals would significantly impact the nation of Israel.

The continuing prophecies contained in Daniel 11 deal with two lines of kings. The King of the South became the title for General Ptolemy and his descendants who ruled over Egypt. They warred against the King of the North, who was General Seleucus and his Seleucid line who ruled over Syria. Basically we’ve got Syria and Egypt duking it out back and forth, back and forth, with Israel caught in the middle. That situation is not too different than what happened in most of the Old Testament, as Israel often was caught in the middle between Egypt warring against either Assyria or Babylon.

Prophecy and history continue to collide in Daniel 11:5-6 which reads:

“Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.”

Just who are these players in the angel’s epic drama? The King of the South involves the Ptolemic Dynasty, beginning with Ptolemy I Soter ruling from 323-285 BC. The King of the North involves the Seleucid Dynasty, whose first major king was Seleucus I Nicator, who ruled from 312-281 BC.

As prophecy and history travels down each of these lines’ descendants, their authority starts going to their heads. Antiochus Theos actually declared himself a god!

Antiochus Theos stood out as the third king of Syria. In order to foster peace between the two regions, he married Ptolemy Philadelphus’ daughter. But, Antiochus Theos had to divorce his wife in order to marry Ptolemy’s daughter. Back in that time period, kings would marry their daughters off to their enemies in order to create alliances.

Antiochus’ spurned ex-wife, the one he divorced to marry the daughter of Ptolemy, wasn’t going to allow herself to be cast off without some retribution. She poisoned the new wife and all of her servants who had traveled with her. The peace between the two houses naturally fell apart after the assassinations. And, just as the angel foretold, the princess had died and the fragile alliance fell apart. The daughter of the South met her demise and the alliance was ruined, all because of a jealous ex-wife with a penchant for poison.

Vic Batista: Sounds rather like a soap opera!

Nathan Jones: Indeed it does! Very much so. I don’t watch or even recommend Game of Thrones, but that show is popular right now. I hear that pretty much the entire show revolves around the theme of intrigue and constant warfare between different kings who lust after the ultimate throne that would grant them control over all lands and territories. Daniel 11 parallels the Thrones book and show perfectly. How really sad when you think about it, that people are willing to fight and squabble over little scraps of land in order to gain more power and control.

Vic Batista: People think that Hollywood stories are exciting, but they should read the Bible. All the intrigue!

Nathan Jones: Yes, they should. For if you understand the historical and cultural events that surround these prophecies, you realize that they are quite fascinating. I’ve read through this Intertestamental time period in greater detail, and it sure does read like a soap opera.

Vic Batista: All throughout history conquest has been the tool for gaining more power. Some power-hungry despots desire to rule and reign over other people. Ephesians tells us, though, that behind every earthly battle, spiritual battles are being waged between angelic principalities and powers. Again we are seeing this spiritual battle being waged during this Intertestamental time period.

Behind every earthly battle, spiritual battles are being waged. Click To Tweet

Nathan Jones: Daniel’s mind must have been blown receiving such prophecies, because he was being given a play-by-play of events that would cover the centuries yet to come. Before these two Greek powers had even been established, Daniel learned of the political intrigue that would be waged between the Seleucids in the north and the Ptolemies in the south, with Israel caught in the middle. Not all prophecy in the Bible is this explicit in detail, even down to the historical characters themselves, but Daniel 11 sure is.

Some prophetic characters in Bible prophecy have actually been named, such as Cyrus, the Persian who conquered the Babylonian Empire. He was prophesied in Isaiah about 150 years before Cyrus rose to power. Also, Josiah, one of the last good kings of Judah, was prophesied many years before he was born. I’m reminded of the prophecy about Emmanuel, God with us; and that Jesus Christ would come and He would be Emmanuel, God with us. So, sometimes God does actually name a name.

Vic Batista: Just like Daniel learning about what would soon come about during the Intertestamental time period, we today who live in the time period called the Church Age, we have the book of Revelation foretelling how events are soon going to unfold in our near future. Hopefully people are paying attention and come to believe that the Bible is truly God’s inspired Word as they see these Scriptures coming to pass. Daniel 11’s prophecies came to pass, therefore, so too the prophecies contained in the book of Revelation will also come to pass.

Nathan Jones: Excellent point! Since we can be 100% sure that Bible prophecy has been fulfilled in the past, and it has, then we can be 100% sure that Bible prophecy concerning the future will also come to pass. These prophecies impact out world today. Some astounding events have been prophesied for the near future, and considering Bible prophecy’s perfect track record, we can assuredly know that these events will happen.

For example, Revelation tells us that God is going to pour out His 21 judgments upon the world over a seven year time period. These judgments must happen, because from God’s eternal perspective, they already have. God stands outside of time and space. He writes much of prophecy like it was in past tense. So, our future prophecy is God’s past history.

Our future #prophecy is God's past history. Click To Tweet

The Most Important Decision

Vic Batista: What a wonderful hope we embrace when trusting in the promises of God, because Bible prophecy proves God always keeps His promises. John 3:16 promises that, “God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3 stands as God’s ironclad promise. God loves us and He has a plan for our lives. He never fails!

Maybe the reader has yet to grab hold of John 3:16’s wonderful promise? Maybe you have yet to believe that the Bible has prophesied hundreds of incredible prophecies, and they always come true?

I encourage you to read on in our series on Daniel. But, maybe you do understand that the Bible is the very Word of God. If so, have you responded to that truth by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior? All the promises and blessing that God offers can be yours if you put your faith and trust in Him. And, all the promises of curses and judgment are for those who remain in rebellion. Will you be part of the blessed rewards ceremony, or face the wrath of God’s judgment in Hell?

God gives people a choice. What will you choose?

Nathan Jones: Mankind has been granted by God the freedom to choose Him or not. To choose God means to put your faith and in trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior. If you ask in repentance, He will forgive you of your sins so that you can stand before God holy and forgiven.

Or, we can choose to ignore God and reject His sacrifice on the cross. The weight of your sins will remain as a burden upon you. Your debt to God remains outstanding, payable only by eternal punishment in Hell.

So, the most important decision a person will ever make in life remains. One can choose to surrender their life to Jesus Christ, or not. No third option exists. To put the decision off until death only means you remained unsaved. Salvation is the most important decision a person will ever make.

Vic Batista: As we are search the prophecies of Daniel 11, we know many of them have been fulfilled in history. But, history is not yet over. The Bible is God’s story. The story centers on redemption by the Redeemer Jesus Christ loves each of us so much that He was willing to die in our place in order to reconcile mankind to the Father. And, while we wait to be reunited, He has a wonderful plan for us in this life.

In the fifty-first segment of this series on the mighty angels of Daniel, we will witness the two lines of kings continuously waging their centuries-long war!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

RELATED ARTICLES

ABOUT AUTHOR View all posts Author Website

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

1 CommentLeave a Comment

LEAVE A REPLY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *