Daniel 11:1-45

In the first year that Darius the Mede was king, I stood up to support Michael and fought with him against the prince of Persia. “I will now reveal the truth to you: Three more kings will rise to power in Persia; a fourth will come who will be much richer than all the others. His great wealth will cause his power to grow until his empire wages war against all the kingdoms of Greece. Then a warrior-king will arise who will govern a vast empire and do whatever he pleases. But at the zenith of his power, his empire will be shattered and scattered to the four winds of heaven, though not to his descendants. It will not be as powerful as when he ruled it, for his dominion will be uprooted and will be passed on to others who are not his descendants.” “The king of Egypt will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will rise to become even more powerful and rule a kingdom greater than his. Then, after some years have passed, an alliance will form. And in order to ensure the peace, the daughter of the king of Egypt will marry the king of Syria. However, her grip on power will not last for long, and the king, too, will lose his throne. In those days, she, her husband, her child, and those who escorted her to Syria will all be killed. Yet later, one of her family members will rise to become the king of Egypt. He will come against the defenses of the walled city of the king of Syria and defeat the Syrian armies. He will plunder their wealth and take it back to Egypt as spoils —all their precious gold, silver vessels, idols, and statues. For some time, he will leave the kingdom of Syria in peace. Eventually, the king of Syria will invade the kingdom of Egypt, but he will have to retreat to his own country. The king’s sons will prepare for war, assembling a powerful group of warriors. One of his sons will swiftly advance, sweeping over the land like a powerful flood. Their armies will press forward and fight all the way to the strong, walled fortress of the king of Egypt. “Then the king of Egypt will fly into a rage and set out to launch an offensive against the king of Syria, who will have an immense army on his side. However, the king of Egypt will conquer the Syrian forces. The king of Egypt will be filled with pride over his victory and of the many tens of thousands of soldiers he slaughtered, but he will not continue to be victorious. “Then the king of Syria will recruit an even larger army than before, and after some years, he will advance a second time with a massive army, fully equipped with weapons and supplies. “At that time, many will take up arms against the king of Egypt. Renegades from among your own people will rebel in the hope of realizing the vision; but they will fail. Then the king of Syria will advance and build up siege-ramps to capture a strongly fortified city. The Egyptian forces will not stand their ground; even their elite troops will not be strong enough to resist. The invading king of Syria will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to resist him. He will occupy the land of splendor, and all of it will be under his control. “Then, with the might of his entire kingdom, he will resolve to conquer Egypt by cunningly making a peace treaty with the king of Egypt. The king of Syria will offer one of his daughters in marriage to the king of Egypt in order to defeat his kingdom, but his plan will fall apart and will not work to his advantage. The king of Syria will next turn to the coastlands and capture many cities, but a foreign commander will put a stop to his arrogance and make him suffer the consequences of his defiant insolence. “He will then retreat to the well protected fortresses of his own country. In time, he will be defeated, lose his grip on power, and disappear. His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the wealth of his kingdom. In a short time, however, the king will die, though not in the heat of battle.” The man in white linen continued: “In his place will rise a despised usurper of the throne, who had no claim to royal status. He will attack the kingdom when the people least suspect it, and he will seize the kingdom through deceit. He will totally sweep away every opposing army that stands before him and crush them. He will even kill the high priest of the covenant. And after he forms an alliance with him, he will act deceitfully and, despite his initial small following, he will grow ever stronger. Then unexpectedly, he will, by stealth, invade rich, fertile provinces and achieve what none of his ancestors did. And he will distribute the spoils and lavish them upon his followers. He will plot to defeat opposing forces protected in fortified positions and will succeed, but only for a short time. “He will stir up his might and courage, muster a large army, and wage war against the king of Egypt. However, the king of Egypt will fight back with an even greater army—a massive and powerful army—but he will be defeated because of secret plans devised against him. His closest advisers, who eat at the king’s table, will attempt to kill him. His army will be swept away, and many will fall in the slaughter. “These two kings will sit at the same table and exchange lies with their hearts filled with evil motives. But their plans will come to nothing, for the time set by God has still not yet come. Then the treacherous king of Syria will start back home with his great spoils. He will set his heart against the holy covenant, take action against it, and then return to his own land. In the time God has appointed, he will go back to attack Egypt again, but this time the outcome will not be as before. Roman ships will oppose him, and he will lose heart. He will retreat and take out his indignation against the holy covenant and show favor to those who forsake that holy covenant. “He will then dispatch his armed forces to enter and profane the sacred temple-stronghold. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and, in its place, set the blasphemous abomination that brings desolation. The Syrian king will entice with flattery those who betray the holy covenant, but those who know their God will stand firm and valiantly resist. “These who are filled with wisdom will help many understand what is happening. However, for a season, they will face severe testing. Some will go into captivity, some will be robbed, and some will be killed by the sword and by the flames. During this persecution, God’s people will receive little help, though many will join with them insincerely. Even some of the wise leaders will stumble, yet this will lead to them being purged, purified, and made clean—until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.” “The king will grow more and more arrogant and do whatever he pleases. He will exalt himself above every other god, and utter horrendous blasphemies against the God of all gods. He will be successful until God’s wrath reaches the boiling point, for what God has decreed will certainly be fulfilled. The king will not respect the gods of his ancestors, the god worshiped by women, nor any other god because he will consider himself the greatest god of all. Instead, he will glorify the god of strongholds. He will honor this god, unknown to his ancestors, with gold and silver, precious stones and costly gifts. That king, with the help of his foreign god, will defend his own fortresses. He will give great honor to those who accept him as ruler, and elevate them as high officials and parcel out the land to them as their reward for their loyalty.” “At the time of the end, the king of Egypt will lock horns with the king of Syria, but the king of Syria will come storming out against him like a whirlwind—with chariots, cavalry, and a great fleet of ships. He will pass through countries, overrun them, and sweep through them like a flood. He will even invade the glorious land, and many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab, and what remains of the Ammonites will escape. “He will use his power to attack many countries, and Egypt will not escape his onslaught. He will confiscate all the Egyptian treasures, including its silver and gold. Libyans and Ethiopians will be in submission to him. “Then reports will come from the east and the north that will trouble him, and he will set out with furious rage to bring death and complete destruction to many. He will pitch his lavish royal tents between the sea and the beautiful mountain of the holy temple. Yet he will come to his end all alone, with no one to stand with him.”