MICHAEL THE PRINCE
INTERACTIVE BIBLE STUDY

Like Daniel’s previous prophecies, this one also parallels the others, but now emphasizes key individuals and events. The star individual is Michael, who watches over and delivers the righteous. The angel speaking to Daniel provides extraordinary detail of specific events that occur during the reign of each world realm from Daniel’s day until the second coming of Christ.

Bible Reference: Daniel 10-12

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Medo-Persia

1
"And now will I shew 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" (Daniel 11:2).
1
Dan. 11:2 outlines the kings of Persia. King Cyrus reigned when the vision was given. He was followed by three kings and then a fourth:

1. Cambyses 530-522
2. Bardiya 522
3. Darius I 522-486
4. Xerxes 486-465

Xerxes was the rich fourth king. He did “stir up all” as he stockpiled supplies for four years while assembling his army, which had contingents from 40 nations. They all marched together, against Greece. But were defeated.




Greece

1
"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" (Daniel 11:3-4).
1
Alexander the Great united the Greeks and quickly conquered the Persians before he suddenly died and his empire was divided four ways (“four winds of heaven” - v. 11:3-4).

The division of Alexander's kingdom was also represented by the leopard with four heads in Daniel 7 and the four points of the compass in Daniel 8. This is another example of how Daniel's prophecies build upon one another and have parallel timelines, often repeating main points.

Keep in mind that this prophecy was given to Daniel about 534 B.C., long before the kingdom of Greece came into power. We do not need to doubt that it was Daniel the prophet who wrote this prophecy, because Jesus Himself said so in Matthew 24:15.




Greece - Divided

1
"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" (Dan. 11:5).
1
Verses 3 to 16 outline the intrigues between two of the four divisions within Greece. The Kings of the North are the Seleucid kings and the Kings of the South are the Ptolemaic kings (Egypt is named in verse 8). Great detail is given in describing the interaction between these powers.
2
"So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand" (Dan. 11:15).
2
By the end of the passage, the King of the North, now Antiochus IV, gained control of Egypt and besieged Alexandria. The Ptolemies, who started out strong, were too weak to withstand. In verse 16, a new player, Rome begins to do "according to his own will."




Rome

1
"Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle" (Daniel 11:20).
1
The focus in verse 16 shifts to Rome, which became the next realm. In verse 20, attention is brought to the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, who was “a raiser of taxes”. He was in power when Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to be taxed
2
"And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant" (Daniel 11:22).
2
Daniel 11:21 refers to a “vile person” who would follow Caesar Augustus. This was Tiberius Caesar. He warred against the Germanic tribes for years, before and after becoming emperor, including the Battle of the Teutoburg, a shocking and massive loss for Rome ("overflown from before him" and "broken") that Historians describe as changing the course of world history. Jesus, the “Prince of the Covenant” would also be killed ("broken") during his reign. Tiberius Caesar was in power when Jesus was crucified.




Rome - Divided

1
"And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him" (Daniel 11:25).
1
Just like the loss of the Persians to the Greeks, in verse 2, signalled us to look for the realm of Greece to be the next power described, so now the loss of imperial Rome to the Germanic tribes in verse 22, signals us to look for the Germanic tribes to rise as the next power. Indeed, verses 23 to 30 describe the rise of the Franks and the activities of divided Rome after it divided into 10 tribes. The two main or most powerful tribes warred against each other; the Franks (King of North) and Visigoths (King of South). Notice that, just like when Greece divided and two of the 4 divisions became the king of the north and south, now when Rome divides, two of its 10 divisions become the king of the north and south.
2
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." (Dan. 11:31).
2
Just like the precedent in previous verses, the defeat of the Franks by the Byzantine-papal alliance in verse 30 signals that the focus has now shifted away from the Franks to the next power, the papacy ("them that forsake the holy covenant"). The papacy was propped up by state powers throughout the 1260 years. Initially the Byzantines ("ships of Chittim" - they controlled Cyprus at this time) were the main power that did this, as emperor Justinian determined to unify the empire with both religion and politics under his control.
3
"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." (Dan. 11:31).
3
"31 And arms [strong ones, force, refers to the Byzantines who controlled Cyprus at that time and were the "ships of Chittim"] shall stand on his [the papacy's - "them that forsake the holy covenant"] part [Pope Vigilius requested the Byzantine emperor Justinian to issue the Pragmatic Sanction of 554, which officially put his laws into effect in Italy, making the papacy an integral component of civil government and the papacy's religion enforced], and they [Byzantines] shall pollute the sanctuary of strength [wound the heavenly sanctuary], and shall take away the daily sacrifice [divert attention away from Jesus' continual ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and to the papacy's earthly substitute system of priestly mediation and forgiveness], and they [Byzantines] shall place the abomination that maketh desolate [will establish the devastating revolt, or set into place the substitute mediatorial system of those who rebelled, the papacy]."




Rome - Papal

1
"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indigation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done" (Daniel 11:36).
1
Verses 33 to 39 describe the activities of God's people during a long time of persecution, and the activities of the papacy in exalting itself above God and using the state to persecute. Many other prophecies foretell these same conditions as the Papal power would speak blasphemies and prosper for 1260 years.

Remember that Daniel's prophecies parallel each other. Daniel 11 is no different as we've seen the same realms rise and fall, and the same phases of Rome as it divides into 10 and then inappropriately unites with the church of the Middle Ages.
2
"...it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished" (Daniel 12:7).
2
This time prophecy has appeared in Daniel before. It also appears multiple times in Revelation. They all refer to the same 1260 year period when Papal Rome was ecclesiastically dominant in the realm (538 to 1798 AD).

Calculation:
  • A "time" = 1 year
  • A time, times, and an half = 3-1/2 years (1 yr + 2 yrs + 1/2 yr = 3-1/2 yrs)
  • 3-1/2 years = 1260 days = 1260 prophetic years




Rome - Protestant

1
"And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." (Daniel 11:40).
1
Verses 40 to 45 describe the events of World War I and World War II between the Central powers led by Germany (the German tribe - King of the South) and the Allied powers led by Britain (the English tribe - King of the North). Remember that, just like the king of the north and the king of the south arose out of the divisions of Greece earlier in the chapter, so now both kings arise out of the divisions of Rome, which are the 10 tribes.

The Allies engaged militarily in many European countries ("enter into the countries"), completely covering the areas and sweeping through like a flood ("overflow and pass over"). The caliphate in Constantinople, on behalf of the Ottoman government, joined the Central Powers (Germany) and declared Jihad against the allied powers in 1914. Britain and its allies also entered Ottoman lands, restructured the borders in the middle east, setup kings and established a Jewish homeland.
2
"He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps" (Daniel 11:41-43).
2
The area east of the Jordan River (Edom, Moab, Ammon) was originally included in the area allotted for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, but was later released and given independence (v. 41).

Britain made Egypt and Sudan (Ethiopia in Bible times) protectorates, formally a part of the British Empire. Britain controlled all of the riches of Egypt, especially the oil and trade routes (v. 43).
3
"But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him" (Daniel 11:44-45).
3
After World War II, the World Zionist Organization formally declared the establishment of the State of Israel. The USA (part of the English tribe/horn with Britain) recognized the new nation that same day, which was now critical to Israel's success as the balance of power had tilted from Europe to the USA as a global superpower. So today, we find ourselves in this situation, where the King of the North, the English tribe now led by the USA ("he"), has established and fixed ("shall plant") a dwelling place ("the tabernacles") or an outpost in Israel, specifically a place of rule or capital ("of his palace") between the Mediterranean Sea and Dead Sea ("between the seas") in Jerusalem ("in the glorious holy mountain"). Amidst all the controversy surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict, verse 45 indicates that the King of the North will remain planted in Jerusalem until his power ends ("come to his end") because no one will help ("none shall help him").




Christ's Kingdom

1
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (Daniel (12:1).
1
The intriguing story in this prophecy now continues down to the very end. Michael stands up (remember that the court was seated in an earlier prophecy), which represents Jesus completing His high priestly mediation in heaven and finishing the investigation of who is "written in the book" (see previous studies on the "2300 days" and the "Israelite Sanctuary"). He now stands up to take over all earthly kingdoms and rule.

Then begins the Time of Trouble, which are the 7 last plagues. Daniel's people, the Jews ("thy people") who have accepted Jesus, along with all of God's people (everyone found "written in the book") are not harmed by the plagues and are delivered. The righteous dead are resurrected and "shine forever".
The name Michael means “who is like God.” The name is mentioned in Daniel and Revelation, calling Him the archangel and the prince. The word “angel” means “messenger,” and “arch” means “chief, greatest, or highest.” So “Michael the archangel” simply means “The greatest messenger who is like God.” He displays the power and attributes that belong only to God, such as resurrecting the dead (Jude 9, Dan. 12:1-2), evicting the devil from heaven (Rev. 12:7-9), and interceding for and redeeming the saints. This evidence leaves little doubt that the true identity of Michael is Jesus. Jesus is not an angel, but is the “commander and chief” of the angels. Unlike the angels, He never had a beginning and will never have an ending (Rev. 1:8, John 8:58), He was not created, but rather IS the creator (John 1:1-3, Heb. 1:3-4).

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