Cyrus was the king of Persia when Daniel received his vision (10:1). In 11:2-4 we are told that there would arise three more kings after Cyrus, and following them there would be a very rich king who would be superior to those three. A glance at profane history shows that these three monarchs were Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspis. These three kings are also mentioned in Ezra 4:5-24. In verse 5 Cyrus is mentioned and the period beginning with initial opposition to the rebuilding of the temple is covered by the expression, "All the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even unto the reign of Darius king of Persia." The first king in the list is called Ahasuerus. This monarch was Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, who reigned for seven years. The Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:7-23 was none other than Pseudo-Smerdis, the usurper to the Persian throne, who reigned only seven months. In verse 24 Darius is mentioned. This is none other than Darius Hystaspis. Biblical history confirms the profane record.

The fourth monarch in the list is none other than Xerxes, who marshaled his forces and went against the Greeks, but was defeated by them. In the commonly accepted system of reckoning this occurred in 480 B.C. In the biblical system of chronology it occurred in 3645 A.H. (For the correct system of biblical dating, see my book Messiah: His First Coming Scheduled.)

"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, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these (Dan. 11:3,4). Daniel leaps from the time of Xerxes to that of Alexander the Great. There were several kings who sat upon the Persian throne during this period, and who were omitted from the divine account. According to the usual reckoning the Persian period continued for 205 years. This is according to the reckoning of Ptolemy, the heathen astronomer and chronologer. He made a mistake of 82 years. The Persian period of universal history continued only 123 years in all. The period of Greek history began in 331 and is thus reckoned by all reputable chronologers.

The long and bitter conflict between the Greco-Syrian and the Greco-Egyptian governments continued throughout the second and first centuries before Christ. The prophetic foreview of this is found in Daniel 11:5 to 35. The history is so very minutely told and is so very accurate that the enemies of the truth of God have from time to time assailed this chapter. Their contention is that, since it has outlined in such an accurate manner the conflict mentioned above, evidently it was written after the events took place. This is one of the chief reasons for denying to Daniel the authorship of this book and for their attributing it to an author during the Maccabean struggle. For this position there is not one iota of evidence. This theory would never have been thought of by anyone except those who have an aversion to the doctrine of inspiration. Holding to a naturalistic explanation of all phenomena these critics cannot countenance, for a moment, the idea of inspiration and miracles. This approach to the divine record is the sole cause for questioning Daniel's being the author of this marvelous book. Hence, pure rationalism and infidelity are the parents of this theory. But those who know the Lord and desire to do his will never entertain such ideas. On the contrary, they are convinced that Daniel the Prophet in the third year of Cyrus was granted a vision of the course of Hebrew history during the Persian and Grecian periods and recorded the same infallibly by the Spirit of God as we have it in this chapter.

In a short exposition of this chapter it is impossible to recount this long conflict and to point to the various monarchs and wars that are so very clearly described in this marvelous prediction. Those who are interested may procure a good commentary on Daniel and follow the counterpart of the prophecy in the actual historical unfolding thereof. [Additional information]

The prophecy of the conflict during the two last pre-Christian centuries is blended with one that pertains to the final world ruler. Of this one we read in Daniel 11:36-39. There is some discussion, however, as to the correct interpretation of this passage. There are some good, excellent brethren who make a distinction between the personal Antichrist and the Roman Dictator in the end time. Those taking this position usually interpret these verses as referring to a Jewish king of this future time, whom they designate as the personal Antichrist and who reigns in Palestine. At the same time, he acknowledges as his overlord, the Roman World Dictator.

On the opposite side of this question are many excellent Bible students who are as faithful and true as the former group, and who believe that this prediction refers to the World Dictator. They hold to the proposition that this last Caesar and the Antichrist are the same person. For years I was undecided on this point but after much prayer and research work I have come to the conclusion that the latter position is the correct one. Thus to my mind, Daniel 11:36-39 is a prediction of the Roman Dictator, the last Caesar.

This passage gives us a photograph of him as he will appear in the middle of Daniel's seventieth week (Dan. 9:27). It is at that time that he, reveals his true character as one who will "do according to his will." He refuses to acknowledge even any of the old Roman deities, the gods of his fathers. Neither does he regard "the desire of women," the true Messiah. Nor does he have respect for any god. On the contrary, as Paul informs us in II Thessalonians 2, he goes to Jerusalem, takes his seat in the temple, which the Jews will build at that time, and presents himself to the world as God. "But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things." This sentence is a play upon words. Interpreted in literal language it simply means that instead of worshiping some god, he trusts in force and power. At that time Palestine will be divided and he will promote to honor those who acquiesce to his program.

There will be a political upheaval in the middle of Daniel's seventieth week. The king of the south will invade Palestine. Then the king of the north will likewise come down into the Holy Land. The Antichrist will rush from Rome against them but will suffer reverses, for urgent matters will take him elsewhere. In the march of armies, however, the land of Edom, Moab, and Ammon will be spared the ravages of war. Thither it is my impression, the Jews will flee from the atrocities of the Antichrist, at that time. In these lands they will be spared the vengeance of this last Caesar. Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, however, will not escape from the fury of his wrath. The judgments of the Tribulation will become more severe at this time as indicated in Daniel 12:1. This time of trouble will be discussed in the last article of this series.