Library
The longest continuous prophecy in the Bible is found in the 11th chapter of Daniel. It details events affecting the Jews from the 5th to the 1st centuries BCE. According to the internal dating of Daniel, it was compiled during the mid-6th century BCE. However, the prophecies found in Daniel (especially chapter 11) have caused some liberal Bible scholars to assign a much later date to the book of Daniel, as this quote from The Oxford Companion to the Bible plainly demonstrates:
The book of Daniel is one of the few books of the Bible that can be dated with precision. That dating makes it the latest of all the books of the Hebrew Bible, and yet it is still early enough to have been known by the sectarian community at Qumran, which flourished between the second century BCE and 68 CE.
The lengthy apocalypse of Daniel 10-12 provides the best evidence for date and authorship. This great review of the political maelstrom of ancient Near Eastern politics swirling around the tiny Judean community accurately portrays history from the rise of the Persian empire down to a time somewhat after the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple and the erection there of the "abomination that makes desolate" (Dan. 11:31) . . . The portrayal is expressed as prophecy about the future course of events, given by a seer in Babylonian captivity; however, the prevailing scholarly opinion is that this is mostly prophecy after the fact. Only from 11.39 onward does the historical survey cease accurately to reproduce the events known to have taken place in the latter years of the reign of Antiochus IV. The most obvious explanation for this shift is that the point of the writer's own lifetime had been reached. (p. 151, "Daniel, The Book of")
Regardless of how liberal scholars and doubting theologians now view Daniel, the Messiah Yeshua proclaimed him to be a prophet (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). Therefore, we can trust ALL the prophecies given to Daniel. In this article, we are going to examine this most detailed prophecy that Gabriel gave to Daniel. In the course of our review, we'll see how ALL of it has been fulfilled.
In the 10th chapter of Daniel, we are told that Daniel had a vision in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia. Based on the available information, it appears that this vision came on the 3rd day of the first Hebrew month (Nisan). The angel Gabriel was sent to explain the vision to Daniel; he arrived 21 days later on the 24th of Nisan (Dan. 10:4). Gabriel explained that he had been dispatched to give Daniel understanding of the vision he had seen, which dealt with the fate of the Jews in the latter days (Dan. 10:14). His explanation of the prophecy begins in the 11th chapter of Daniel.
DANIEL 11:1 "Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him." (NKJV)
According to Gabriel, he had strengthened Darius the Mede. There is much scholarly dispute over the identity of the Darius mentioned in verse 1. Various theories have been advanced by eminent scholars to identify this ruler. Some believe he is Gubaru (Gobryas), the general who led the actual attack on Babylon. Others, following the Greek historian Xenophon and supported by Josephus (Ant. 10.11.4), have adopted the view that Darius was "the son of Astyages" – namely, Cyaxares II. One other suggestion is that Darius was a title for Astyages, the last king of the Medes and the grandfather of Cyrus the Great. Regardless of the actual identity of Darius, it is clear that he ruled by appointment (Dan. 5:31; 9:1).
This introduction by Gabriel has a meaning that has rarely been recognized. In the Daniel 9:1-2, we see that in the first year of Darius the Mede, Daniel realized how long Jerusalem would remain desolate (70 years), based on the prophecies of Jeremiah. Because of this realization and in accordance with God's instructions in the Torah (Lev. 26:40-42), Daniel prayed to God and confessed the sins of his people (Dan. 9:3-19). After doing so, Gabriel was sent to Daniel and gave him the prophecy of the 70 weeks (Dan. 9:24-27), which was a time line showing when the Messiah would appear in Israel. The mention of Darius the Mede here by Gabriel is not random, but was rather intended to point Daniel (and us) back to this previously specified period of time in order to understand WHEN the prophetic events he is about to outline would occur. Therefore, we can look for the fulfillment of this prophecy within that prophesied 70 weeks of years.
DANIEL 11:2 "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece." (NKJV)
This prophecy was given in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia (c. 535 BCE). The next three Medo-Persian kings after Cyrus were: (1) his son, Cambyses II (530-522 BCE); (2) Gaumata the Magian (also known as the pseudo-Smerdis – 522 BCE); and (3) the Persian Darius I (the Great – 522-486 BCE). The fourth king was (4) Xerxes (486-465 BCE).
Xerxes' mother was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great. His father, Darius the Great, left him the task of punishing the Greeks for their part in the Ionian rebellion (499-494 BCE) and their defeat of the Persian army at the battle of Marathon (490 BCE).
Xerxes began extensively preparing for his expedition against the Greeks in 483 BCE by raising money and accumulating provisions. He had a channel dug through the isthmus of the peninsula of Mount Athos, stored supplies along the road through Thrace, and had two bridges constructed across the Hellespont. In preparation to punish the Greeks, Xerxes also entered into an alliance with Carthage. Even many of the smaller Greek states sided with the Persians. A large fleet and a vast army (numbered by some at over two million men) were gathered. He certainly did "stir up all against the kingdom of Greece."
In the spring of 480 BCE, Xerxes set out from Sardis. At first, he was victorious. But when Xerxes attacked the Greek fleet under negative conditions at the Battle of Salamis (September 28, 480 BCE), he lost, even though his fleet was more than three times as large as the Greek navy (1,207 ships to 371). This battle decided the war; Xerxes was forced to retire to Sardis, and the army which he left in Greece was finally beaten the next year. The Delian League (also known as the Athenian Empire), was formed in 477 BCE as an offensive and defensive alliance of the Greek city-states against the Persians. The Greek empire had begun its rise. Read More