Daniel chapter 11 and 12 is the entire Middle East conflict in the bible up to the third coming of Jesus Christ. When Daniel was writing chapter 11 and 12, the Media and Persians had overthrown the Babylon Empire as prophesied in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s vision of four beasts.
The Media and Persian stood like a bear: first the Media then the Persians as prophesied in Daniel’s vision of a ram and he-goat. The Persians who come last become powerful than the Media as it is said, ‘the higher come up last’. Persian is the land which is today called Iran. So the Middle East conflict as given by Angel Gabriel to Daniel begins with the rule of the Persian Empire.
Persian Empire (Iran) in Middle East conflict
Dan 11:2: And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
This prophecy was revealed to Daniel during the reign of King Cyrus as the king of the Persians. After King Cyrus three more kings were to rise in Persian. The three kings who rose were;
- Ahasuerus
- Artaxerxes and
- Darius called “Hystaspes”
The fourth king is Xerxes who invaded Greece in BC 483-480. He was richer than them all as prophesied ‘and the fourth shall be far richer than they all’. Xerxes was totally determined to wipe out Greece and he spent four years rising up an army of 2.5 million men. He matched them north to Greece for battle and the battle between the Greeks and the Xerxes (Persians) was so bloody. Although the Greeks lost, the Persians were decimated and all their armies. For the next 150 years, the Greeks stayed waiting to take revenge over Persians.
Alexander the great
Dan 11:3-4: And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
!50 years later Alexander the great from Greece rose up. He is the might king who took all the anger and revenge the Greeks had to the Persians and he conquered them and eventually conquered the entire world. When he was 33 years as we have seen in Daniel’s dream of four beasts he cried, is there any more worlds for me to conquer? He was on top of the world but miserable inside and he died. After his death, his kingdom was divided according to the four wings thus the four generals.
Alexander had only one son and the son did not take the power thus as prophesied and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
The four generals who took over from Alexander the great are:
- Cassander who took over Europe,
- Lysimachus; took over Asia minor called today Turkey,
- Ptolemy took over Egypt
- Seluecus took over Asia, Babylon and Syria.
The Seluecus family were up in Syria directly north of Israel. The Ptolemy family were down in Egypt directly below Israel. This two are singled out because Israel is between them.
Egypt and Syria battles prophecy
Dan 11:5-6: And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
Ptolemy, the king of the south, was strong as it is said, ‘And the king of the south shall be strong ‘. Ptolemy II had a daughter called Berenice Syra and he offered his daughter to…..(continued in Egypt Syria wars )
 who overthrew the Babylon Empire, then Greece){kind=link}