We’ve come to the end of our study on Daniel chapter 11. The essential information we learned in this chapter is about a king that will arise in the end times whom Daniel called “the little horn.” He will be the leader of the last Gentile kingdom that will rule over Israel. The little horn in the New Testament is called Antichrist, and in the book of Revelation, he is called the beast. He will rule over Jerusalem for 3 ½ years. At the end, King Messiah will come and destroy the kingdom of Antichrist and free the Jewish people from his grasp. This week’s post is a brief outline of Daniel chapter 11. Should you find yourself in a conversation about end times, this outline might prove helpful to you.

Daniel Chapter Eleven Outline

 By Karen Thompson
Scripture: Daniel Chapter Eleven
Verses 1–4: Alexander the Great Conquered the Middle East

• The first four verses of Daniel chapter 11 predict the rising of four Persian kings that would have dealings with Greece.
• The fourth one, a wealthy king, was confronted in battle by Alexander the Great.
  • Alexander set out on his military campaign in 334 BC against Persia; at the time, Darius III was king of Persia (336–330 BC).
• Shortly after Alexander the Great conquered all of the Middle East, he got sick and died.
• Four of Alexander’s general divided up his empire among him.
  • They immediately went to war with each other with the intention of acquiring Alexander’s entire empire.

Verses 5–20: Alexander’s Four Generals Divide His Kingdom

• The generals, who are now kings, immediately engaged in military, diplomatic, and political machinations to gain each other’s portion of Alexander’s empire.
• Two of the generals quickly lost their portion of Alexander’s empire to the two remaining generals: Seleucus and Ptolemy.
  • General Seleucus, who became King Seleucus, was then king of the north; and General Ptolemy, who became King Ptolemy, was then king of the south.
• Seleucus and Ptolemy were at war with each other to gain the entirety of Alexander’s empire.
• The descendants of King Seleucus and King Ptolemy continued to be at war with each other with the same goal, to gain the entirety of Alexander’s empire.
  • In Daniel chapter 11, the descendants are also referred to as the kings of the north and the kings of the south.
• The Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires waxed and waned according to the outcome of their various wars with each other.

Verses 21–35: The Interactions Between the Kings of the North and the Kings of the South

• The list of the back and forth interactions of the kings of the north from the Seleucid Empire and the kings of the south from the Ptolemaic Empire end with a king of the north called Antiochus Epiphanes.
  • He’s not the last Seleucid king; there were several more kings to follow Antiochus Epiphanes. He is simply the last Seleucid king listed in Daniel’s vision.
• Israel was now part of the Seleucid Empire.
• Antiochus Epiphanes was the first ruler in history to try and force a nation to change its faith and culture.
  • By official decree, Antiochus Epiphanes forced the Jewish people in Israel to become “Greek,” to worship Greek gods and adopt Greek culture.
  • If they resisted, they were persecuted, arrested, and/or killed.
  • Antiochus Epiphanes removed the high priest Onias from his office and replaced him with his brother, Joshua.
  • Joshua was in favor of Israel becoming a Greek nation. He began to speed up the process of transforming Israel and the Jewish people into a Greek nation.
• The majority of the Jewish people refused to worship Greek gods and adopt Greek culture, so they revolted.
  • The Maccabean Revolt occurred during the years 167 to 160 BC.
  • After 3 ½ years, the Jewish rebels took back Jerusalem and restored the temple.
• In the end, the Jewish people won their freedom from the Seleucid king, who met with a very unfortunate death.

Verses 36–45: The Little Horn a.k.a. Antichrist

• The last portion of Daniel chapter 11 prophesies about an evil king who will arise during the end times.
  • Daniel referred to him as the “little horn.” The New Testament calls him Antichrist, and the book of Revelation calls him the Beast.
• He will be a mirror image of the evil ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in that he will rule over the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.
  • Like Antiochus, the end time Antichrist will persecute the Jewish people and force them to worship a false god.
• Antichrist will exalt himself and magnify himself above all other gods.
  • He will speak blasphemous things about the God of the Jewish people.
• He will honor a “God of forces” with wealth. And with this God of forces, he will come against strongholds.
• In the end times, the king of the south, Egypt, will make a move against Antichrist.
  • Antichrist will prevail in the battle.
• Antichrist goes on to come against other nations.
  • But the land once occupied by Edom and Moab (present-day Jordan) will escape his grasp.
• At the end of the seven-year period, Jerusalem will militarily become free from the grasp of Antichrist.
• Antichrist will be in Egypt when he hears the bad news that Jerusalem broke free from him.
• He will rush back to reestablish his hold on Jerusalem.
• He will set up his military base camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Jerusalem.
• He utterly destroys Jerusalem by burning it down and kills many of its citizens.
• At that time, King Messiah will come to the aid of the Jewish people and kills Antichrist and destroys his kingdom.
• No one comes to the aid and assistance of Antichrist.