“Now Will I Show Thee the Truth”

MEMORY VERSE: “The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”  Daniel 11:32, last part.

STUDY HELP: Conflict and Courage, 257.

Introduction: “Heavenly agencies have to contend with hindrances before the purpose of God is fulfilled in its time.  The king of Persia was controlled by the highest of all evil angels.  He refused, as did Pharaoh, to obey the word of the Lord.  Gabriel declared, He withstood me twenty-one days by his representations against the Jews.  But Michael came to his help, and then he remained with the kings of Persia, holding the powers in check, giving right counsel against evil counsel.”  Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary,vol. 4, 1173.

“The prophecy of the eleventh chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment.  Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place.”  Testimonies,vol. 9, 14.

NOTE: Because of the nature of this lesson, many notes are written by the compiler, though he is indebted to the work of a number of commentators.  The necessity of keeping the notes comparatively brief has made it difficult to quote directly from writers whose views the compiler respects.  These notes express the views of the compiler and should not be regarded as authoritative.

“A God in Heaven That Revealeth Secrets”

1    How was Daniel shown the influence of heaven in the affairs of nations?  Daniel 11:1.

NOTE: “Daniel’s prayer had been offered ‘in the first year of Darius’ (verse 1), the Median monarch whose general, Cyrus, had wrested from Babylonia the sceptre of universal rule.  The reign of Darius was honored of God.  To him was sent the angel Gabriel, ‘to confirm and to strengthen him.’  Daniel 11:1.  Upon his death, within about two years of the fall of Babylon, Cyrus succeeded to the throne, and the beginning of his reign marked the completion of the seventy years since the first company of Hebrews had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar from their Judean home to Babylon.”  Prophets and Kings, 556, 557.

2    How was the history of the Medo-Persian Empire summarized for Daniel?  Daniel 11:2.

NOTE: This vision took place in the third year of Cyrus.  See Daniel 10:1.  These four Persian kings were Cambyses, Cyrus’ son, who reigned from 530–522 bc, and committed suicide in despair during a revolt by an impostor called Smerdis who held power for seven months in 522.  He was succeeded by Darius the Great, who reigned from 522–486 bc.  The one who stirred up all against the realm of Greece was Xerxes (called Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther.).  According to the Greek historian, Heroditus, the Persian army numbered five and a quarter million men.

“His Kingdom Shall be Broken”

3    How was the rise and break-up of Alexander the Great’s empire explained to Daniel?  Daniel 11:3, 4.  Compare Daniel 7:6; Daniel 8:21, 22.

NOTE: Alexander became king of Macedonia and ruler of Greece at the age of twenty.  With an army of 50,000 men he invaded the Persian Empire and in five years had conquered it.  He never lost a battle.  Having marched his troops as far as India, he found them unwilling to follow him further.  ‘”Sighing for new worlds to conquer,” he gave himself up to debauchery.  His end came in Babylon when, after a prolonged drinking bout, he collapsed in a high fever and died eleven days later in his thirty-second year.  As prophecy had foretold, his infant sons did not succeed him.  Instead his generals fought among themselves dividing the empire among themselves.

“Many falter and fall because of the indulgence of a perverse temper.  Alexander and [Julius] Caesar found it much easier to subdue a kingdom than to rule their own spirits.  After conquering nations, the world’s so-called great men fell, one of them through the indulgence of appetite, a victim of intemperance, the other through presumption and mad ambition.”  Testimonies,vol. 4, 348.

4    What was Daniel told about the struggles between the king of the north and the king of the south? Daniel 11:5–15.

NOTE: Of the four divisions of Alexander’s empire, only two directly affected the people of God; Ptolemy and his successors, whose empire was based in Egypt, and Seleucus and his successors, whose empire was based in Syria.  Indeed, as the wars among Alexander’s generals developed, Alexander’s empire gradually fell under the control of these two powers.  Ptolemy and his successors are known as “the king of the south” and the Seleucids as “the king of the north,” which was their relationship to Jewish people.  In the wars between these powers, God’s people suffered greatly, most notably at the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the Seleucid kings, in whose reign Rome asserted its power over “the king of the north.”

“As we see the fulfillment of prophecy, our faith in the final triumph of Christ’s kingdom should strengthen; and we should go forth with renewed courage to do our appointed work.”  Christian Service, 111.

“The Robbers of Thy People”

5    What new power is then introduced into the account?  Daniel 11:14, 16.

NOTE: The phrase “the robbers of thy people” literally means “the breakers of thy people” that is, the power that was to destroy the Jews.  This destruction had been described in Daniel 9:26, last part and 27, last part.  The “king of the south”, Ptolemy Epiphanes, was five years old and “the king of the north,” Antiochus the Great, formed an alliance with other powers to divide Ptolemy’s empire among them.  At this point, Rome intervened on Ptolemy’s behalf “to establish the vision.”  Rome was the most prominent power in each of Daniel’s visions.  But notice that Daniel is reassured that the power which was to destroy his people would, in their turn, also fail.  The phrase “the glorious land” is the same as “the pleasant land” in Daniel 8:9.

6    What was Daniel shown about the career of successive Roman emperors?  Daniel 11:17–22.

NOTE: The careers of Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Tiberius are briefly referred to.  Julius’ campaign in Palestine with support from the Jews, “upright ones,” his relationship with Cleopatra who was his mistress but not his wife, his subsequent conquests, and his assassination on returning to his own land are recorded.  His successor, Augustus, is described as “a raiser of taxes”, which recalls Luke 2:1.  He was not to die in battle but suffered from chronic ill-health which rendered him prematurely old, sickly and easily exhausted from the age of thirty-five.  He was succeeded by Tiberius who was described by Augustus his stepfather as “too vile to wear the purple of Rome.”  His name was a byword for appalling debauchery throughout his life.  He succeeded to the purple peaceably, unlike his two predecessors who won power by conquest.  His mock-humility won the senate’s approval for his claim to power.  His armies won important victories on the northern frontier.  But the most significant event of his reign was the death of “the Prince of the covenant,” the crucifixion of Jesus.  Compare Daniel 8:25, last part.

7    What was Daniel shown about the methods of the Roman Empire?  Daniel 11:23–28.

      Compare Daniel 8:24, 25.

NOTE: “At this time the Romans were only a small people; but by their clever methods of leagues and alliances, by which they always professed themselves ready to go to the assistance of the weak and oppressed, they were rapidly becoming strong.”  Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 294.

“If we regard this period, ‘for a time’ [verse 24], as a prophetic ‘time’ or 360 years, the years should probably be reckoned from the event mentioned in the next verse, which is 31 bc.  [The Battle of Actium] Counting 360 years from this would bring us to about the year 330, when the seat of the empire was moved from Rome to Constantinople.…This removal to Constantinople marked the end of the exclusive rule of the seven-hilled city, though the empire continued.”  Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 295.  (n.b. There was no year zero between bc and ad.  Thus, for practical purposes, one subtracts a year in calculating times periods crossing this boundary.)

“They Shall Fall by the Sword”

8    How was the transition from imperial Rome to papal Rome described?  Daniel 11:29–31.

NOTE: “The time appointed” may be the end of the period mentioned in verse 24.  The conflict which took place was to be of a different nature from the previous two conflicts between Rome and Egypt.  The source of the conflict was theological, rather than military.  Rome intervened in a theological debate over the nature of the Trinity.  Constantine wished to impose a unified religion over the entire empire and called a church council over which he presided.  Constantine failed to resolve the debate, despite the resolutions of the Council of Nicea.

“The ships of Chittim” coming against Rome refers to the destruction of imperial Rome by Genseric the Vandal, whose great fleet played a vital part in his victory.  But to reassert the power of Rome required both an alliance with those who had forsaken the holy covenant, and the use of military might.  A marriage of pagan practices and Christianity took place and a union of church and state.  The first king to impose this new religion by force was Clovis, king of the Franks who was named the first Catholic Majesty in 508 and France “the first son of the Church.”  Following the intervention of Justinian’s armies, the last of the three barbarian powers was overthrown (see Daniel 7:8, 20, 24) and the pope installed as bishop-king of Rome.

9    What was Daniel shown about the years of perse-cution of God’s people?  Daniel 11:32–35.  Compare Daniel 7:21, 25.

NOTE: One is reminded of the missionary exploits of the Waldenses, who were nicknamed Sabbatati from their observance of the Sabbath.  Rome reserved its most appalling persecutions for these faithful witnesses.  As Daniel 7:25 foretold, these “many days” of persecution would be appointed by heaven to be 1260 years.  Their history shows how many times their papal opponents deceived them by flattery and false promises, having failed to overcome them with military might.  The Waldenses were but one group, perhaps the best known, of faithful believers during these Dark Ages.  Faithful Sabbath-keepers are recorded in many countries, including India, France, Norway, Bohemia, Transylvania, Hungary, Lombardy, Scotland, Ireland and Bulgaria. Even in places like Ghana, the Sabbath was regarded as the sacred day.

“When Rome at one time determined to exterminate the hated sect, a bull was issued by the pope, condemning them as heretics, and delivering them to slaughter.  They were not accused as idlers, or dishonest, or disorderly; but it was declared that they had an appearance of piety and sanctity that seduced ‘the sheep of the true fold.’  Therefore the pope ordered ‘that malicious and abominable sect of malignants,’ if they ‘refuse to abjure, to be crushed like venomous snakes.’—Wylie, b. 16, ch. 1.  Did this haughty potentate expect to meet those words again?  Did he know that they were registered in the books of heaven, to confront him at the judgment?  ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren,’ said Jesus, ‘ye have done it unto Me.’  Matthew 25:40.  This bull called upon all members of the church to join the crusade against the heretics.  As an incentive to engage in this cruel work, it ‘absolved from all ecclesiastical pains and penalties, general and particular; it released all who joined the crusade from any oaths they might have taken; it legitimatized their title to any property they might have illegally acquired; and promised remission of all their sins to such as should kill any heretic.  It annulled all contracts made in favor of Vaudois [Waldenses], ordered their domestics to abandon them, forbade all persons to give them any aid whatever, and empowered all persons to take possession of their property.’—Wylie, b. 16, ch. 1.  This document clearly reveals the master spirit behind the scenes.  It is the roar of the dragon, and not the voice of Christ, that is heard therein.”  Great Controversy, 77.

10   What was Daniel told about the papacy’s manner of proceeding?  Daniel 11:36–39.  Compare Daniel 7:75, first part; Revelation 13:5–7.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 77, 78.

“At the Time of the End”

11   What blow was the papacy to suffer at the time of the end?  Daniel 11:40, first part.

NOTE: The literal king of the south was based in Egypt.  Revelation 11:8 speaks of a spiritual Egypt.

See Great Controversy, 269, 270.

In 1798, France, “the first son of the church,” sent an army to Rome.  The soldiers entered the Sistine Chapel and commanded the cardinals, there assembled for the anniversary of the pope’s accession to the throne, to perform a grand mass and Te Deum to commemorate the termination of the pope’s authority.  Five days later he was taken from Rome and was taken from prison to prison to France where he died a prisoner the following year.

12   How would the papacy respond to this attack? Daniel 11:40, last part, 43.

NOTE: In dealing with unfulfilled prophecy, it is wise to be most cautious.  In this closing part of the prophecy, the leading character is “the king of the north.”  The literal “king of the north” was the Seleucid portion of Alexander’s empire.  This power has played no part in the history of God’s people for over 2000 years.  All Daniel’s previous prophecies in their closing stages focused on papal Rome.  So do the prophecies of Revelation.  It would be remarkable for this prophecy to finish differently.  The literal “glorious land” was Palestine.  The “glorious holy mountain” (verse 45) was Mount Zion, the site of the temple.  Spiritual Israel does not look to literal Palestine as its home.  Edom, Moab and Ammon (verse 41) were all nations closely related to Israel, though often hostile to God’s people.  See Genesis 19:37, 38; Genesis 36:1.  What would their spiritual equivalent be?  The east (see verse 44) is associated with Christ’s coming and events connected with it.  See Matthew 24:27; Revelation 7:2; Revelation 16:12.

“He Shall Come to His End”

13     What was Daniel shown about the end of the papacy?  Daniel 11:44, 45.  Compare Revelation 13:7, 8; Revelation 16:19; 18.

14   Who intervenes on behalf of His people?  Daniel 12:1.

NOTE: “I want to be among that number who shall have their names written in the book, who shall be delivered.  I want the overcomer’s reward.  The masterly temptations of Satan will overpower many who now profess to believe the truth.  Their unworthy course of action, their denial of Christ, will make it necessary for God to blot their names from the Book of Life.  But O, may it not be so with us!”  Review and Herald, March 26, 1889.

“By this we see the importance of having our names written in the Book of Life.  All whose names are registered there will be delivered from Satan’s power, and Christ will command that their filthy garments be removed, and that they be clothed with His righteousness.  ‘And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.’  In the time of trouble, Satan stirs up the wicked, and they encircle the people of God to destroy them.  But he does not know that ‘pardon has been written opposite their names in the books of heaven.”  Review and Herald,  November 19, 1908.