The Prophecy of Daniel 11: The Fulfillment of Prophecy

Before we launch into the verses of Daniel 11, let us note some things about the prophecy of future events in general, for that is what we will consider as we walk through this chapter.

 

As I noted in the previous article, this prophecy encompasses some 600 years of history from the third year of Cyrus (536-533 B.C.) to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There is no way Daniel could have known about these events of the next 600 years without the Lord, Who knows all things past, present, and future, telling him. The accuracy of the details of this prophecy and their precise fulfillment have led skeptics to hold to a later date for the writing of the book, a date after the events predicted herein.

Commenting on chapters 11 and 12 of Daniel, Philip Mauro wrote:

“Furthermore, upon carefully examining this new communication to Daniel (which occupies chapters XI and XII) it is found to be a complete account, in the form of a continuous historical narrative, of the second period of Jewish national existence, from the reign of Cyrus (when the vision was given) to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus. And not only so but─and this is a matter of the deepest interest─the fulfillment of every statement in this long prophetic narrative is found to be recorded in histories of indisputable authenticity, which have come down to our day.” Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation by Philip Mauro

The fulfillment of such prophecies as these is clear proof of the existence, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence of the one, true, and living God. The Lord points to His power to declare things in the future before they come to pass as proof that He is God alone.

Isaiah 44:6  Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

7  And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

8  Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isaiah 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

11  Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

In the following passage the Lord challenges the deities of the heathen to predict the future as can He thus showing that He alone is God and not they.

Isaiah 41:21  Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

22  Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

23  Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

24  Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

In fact, the Lord foretold things to Israel just so that they could not attribute those things to their idols.

Isaiah 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

4  Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5  I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

The fulfillment of prophecies given by God show Him to be omniscient (all-knowing). He must know all the details of the events He foretells else He could not so accurately predict them. Fulfilled prophecy shows God to be omnipotent (all-powerful). He must have all power over all things so as to insure that the events He predicts come to pass as He predicted them. Fulfilled prophecy shows God to be omnipresent (present everywhere). He must be present everywhere to oversee all the details of the events He has foretold will come to pass. If there is one detail the Lord does not know, one detail that He cannot control, or one detail from which He is absent, that one detail could counteract the prophecy and render it a lie.

The prophetic accuracy of the Bible is one of the tests by which we know it to be in truth the word of God.

Deuteronomy 18:21  And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

22  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Jeremiah 28:9  The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.

If so much as one prophecy of the Bible fails to come to pass, then we can discard the Bible as a fraud and not let anything it says upset us.

Lastly, the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy confirms our faith in the Lord and His word. Jesus said that we would believe when the things He predicted came to pass.

John 13:19  Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

John 14:29  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

So I begin this consideration of the prophecy of Daniel 11 in the hope that it will not only inform your understanding, but that it will also increase your faith in the veracity and trustworthiness of the Holy Bible.