God’s Word for You
Daniel 11:1
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, January 4, 2026
Chapter 11 gives a detailed prophecy about the time that will follow the Persian Empire: It is the rise of Greece and the meaning of this for God’s people in Israel. This chapter was attacked in the past by many liberal and critical theologians, claiming that the book and this chapter in particular are nothing but a piece of propaganda to motivate the Jews to rise up against Antiochus Epiphanes. Since the first 35 verses contain at least 135 prophecies that have been fulfilled to the letter in history, they claim that this could not possibly be a prophecy from the past, from Daniel’s time. The second president of Dallas Theological Seminary, John Walvoord, said, “The issue is a clear-cut question as to whether God is omniscient about the future. If he is, revelation may be just as detailed as God elects to make it, and detailed prophecy becomes no more difficult or incredible than broad predictions.”
This chapter falls into these six parts:
I, 11:1 The Angel of the Lord supported Michael in the year that the Israelites were given permission to return home from captivity.
II, 11:2 Persia would be ruled by four more kings until the Greeks came (the Battle of Salamis, 480 BC).
III, 11:3-4 The rise and fragmentation of the Greeks
IV, 11:5-20 The fighting of Ptolemy (King of the South) and his descendants against Seleucus (King of the North) and his descendants.
V, 11:21-35 The persecution of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes.
VI, 11:36-45 The rise of Antichrist
11:1 And I—In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support him and strengthen him.
We have only a few things to say here, but as always there is law and gospel. First of all, the circumstances of Daniel 10:21 are explained. There, the angel Michael supported the Angel of the Lord against the demon-prince of Persia. But there was also a time when the demon-prince of Greece would rise up, and Michael would be there resisting the demon, the Angel of the Lord speaking here—whom we have identified as Christ rather than Gabriel or some other angel—then the Angel would go to support Michael and the human king, Darius the Mede.
Second: Daniel 11:1 sounds as if it refers to a time before the encounter of chapter 10. Why? Because Daniel 10:1-21 happen “in the third year of Cyrus (the Great) king of Persia,” which was 537 BC. But Daniel 11:1 says that in the first year of Darius the Mede (the underking of Cyrus), the Angel of the Lord stood up to help Michael. That would have been 539, two or three years before.
Third, it’s worth remembering that in these first years of Darius the Mede, Daniel was betrayed by jealous rivals and thrown into the lion’s den (chapter 6). Did the lion’s den incident happen after Daniel received this vision? Chapter 10, we will recall, happened on the bank of the Tigris. Chapter 6 seems to take place in Babylon, which is were Daniel was when the handwriting on the wall appeared to the king of Babylon. Therefore, did Daniel travel to the Tigris, to some city like Eshnunna (on the Tigris, but not far from Babylon), or upstream at Nineveh or Asshur? The chronology would look like one of these possibilities (we will say “the Tigris” rather than a certain city):
A, Betrayal first: Daniel is promoted by Darius the Mede but is betrayed at Babylon, goes into and out of the lion’s den, and then goes to the Tigris where he finishes his days (Daniel 12:13 would be the concluding blessing).
B, Betrayal later: Daniel, in semi-retirement on the Tigris, receives the visions of chapters 10-12, and is then recalled to Babylon to be promoted by Darius the Mede. Betrayed, he enters, survives, and leaves the lion’s den, and prospers (Daniel 6:28 would be the conclusion of Daniel’s history).
Both of these are satisfactory possibilities. It is not necessary for us to choose between them.
Fourthly, the continued attacks of Satan and his demons are a concern for all believers. Christ and his angels wage war behind the scenes against such demons, holding up God the Father’s plans and taking care of the people of God. This proclaims both law and gospel to us. There is law because this is a warning that Satan does not rest in his attacks against God’s good people. But there is gospel as well, for Christ fights for us on our side, and this warfare would come to its climax at the cross.
Let us never be tempted into thinking that the cross was a sad place of defeat. It is where our Lord Jesus Christ won the greatest of victories! “There is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity’s throat cut like a calf.” This was always God’s set purpose, done with his foreknowledge, that wicked men would put him to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2:23). He scorned its shame, and “for the joy set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2) and won the victory over sin and its punishment forever. For us.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.