Daniel 11:36

After the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar took control of the land of Judea, the Jews were never again an independent state until 1948 A.D. In Daniel 11 we have traced their history under the domination of Medo-Persia, then Greece, and now we move ahead to the time of the Roman empire when Rome dominated the land of Judea.

Daniel 11:36  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 indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

The king in this verse refers to the dynasty of Herod under Rome. Recall that this vision pertains to the history of Daniel’s people in the latter days (Daniel 10:14). All the things in this vision of Daniel 11 were “finished” when “the power of the holy people” was scattered, which happened with the final overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Daniel 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that 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.

Therefore, those latter days ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. So the vision of Daniel 11 takes us from the rule of the Persians and then the Grecians over Israel through to the rule of the Romans, who finally destroyed their nation. The dynasty of Herod prospered in Palestine till the indignation was accomplished. This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was that that is determined that would be done. The following prophecy of Daniel specifically refers to the destruction of Jerusalem as something determined to be accomplished.

Daniel 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Herod the Great, who ruled Judea from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D. is the particular king referred to in Daniel 11:36, which we consider today. Herod is the only earthly monarch the writers of the gospels call the king.

Luke 1:5  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Herod the Great did according to his will. Commenting on this Philip Mauro wrote:

“This is what distinguished Herod the Great in a remarkable degree. For history records nothing of his nature was more notable than Herod’s success in rising up from a lowly origin to the rank and authority of king, in securing for himself despotic power and retaining it through all the political changes of the times, and in the way he used power for the accomplishment of all his designs, however stupendous in magnitude (as the rebuilding of the temple) or atrocious in character (as condemning to death his own wife and children). For Herod contrived to secure the favor and confidence, first of Julius Caesar, then of Mark Antony, and then of Octavius Caesar, though he assisted Antony and Cleopatra against him. All things considered, there is nothing more wonderful in the career of Herod than his extraordinary success in doing ‘according to his will.’ ¶But, taking the expression in the other sense, we may say that it would be difficult to find in history one who so ruthlessly executed the designs of his own tyrannical and cruel heart, even upon those of his own flesh and blood, as Herod the king. His murder of his best-loved wife, the beautiful Mariamne, who was a princess of the Asmonean family, is, in its special circumstances, without parallel in history. He put to death also three of his own sons (two of them by his favorite wife) because he suspected them of aspiring to his throne; and similar deeds of willfulness characterized his entire reign. Josephus gives many examples of this (Antiquities of the Jews XII 9, 4).”

In Moses’ law, God-appointed rulers in Israel were called gods in that they partook of divinely appointed authority.

Exodus 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

Now Herod exalted and magnified himself above every god or authority in Israel, even taking upon himself to appoint the office of the high priest. He spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he promoted in Israel the worship of Caesar. He also spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he issued the decree to have all the young children in Bethlehem two years old and under slain in an attempt to kill the child Jesus, Who is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 2:16-18).