God’s Word for You

Daniel 11:2 Three kings, and a fourth

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, January 5, 2026

2 “Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia. The fourth will be wealthier than all of them, and when he has become powerful through his wealth, he will stir everyone up against the kingdom of Greece.

The Angel of the Lord continues to speak to Daniel. He begins with the immediate future. In this verse, he covers the relevant future of history of Persia until the coming of Alexander the Great. There is no figurative meaning here; this is not an allegory or a riddle to be unlocked. This was simply and precisely a prophecy of what was on its way in the near future. At the time of this prophecy, Cyrus the Great and his underking, Darius the Mede, were ruling over Persia. The reign of Cyrus would continue until 530 BC. The three kings are clear:

1, Cambyses (529-522), the son of Cyrus. He was a tyrant who spent most of his reign away from Persia in Egypt. He became jealous of his brother Bardiya (or Smerdis) and had him murdered, but after he himself died, a pretender (“Pseudo-Smerdis”) impersonated the secretly dead Smerdis and ruled for a few months in 522.

2, Darius I, the Great (522-486). He put down several attempted rebellions, unified the government of the many provinces, and standardized the coinage of Persia. It was this Darius (not Darius the Mede, who was the underking serving Cyrus) who corresponded with the Jews in the days of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1-7, 6:1-15; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1). His letters are quoted in Scripture in the Aramaic language.

3, Xerxes (486-465, murdered). He is especially famous for invading Greece in 480 BC (Battle of Thermopylae, defeat of Athens), which ended in a terrible naval defeat (Greece over Persia) known as the Battle of Salamis. Returning home, he finished several large construction projects that were begun by his father Darius I. Xerxes is mentioned by name in Ezra 4:6. Xerxes and the son he had named as his heir (Darius) were assassinated by the commander of his own bodyguard. Xerxes was succeeded by his third son, Artaxerxes.

The fourth great king:

4, Artaxerxes I (464-423 BC), known most famously as the husband of Queen Esther. He could well be said to have “stirred everyone up against the kingdom of Greece” with his wealth. He used the strategy of funding the enemies of Greece, causing Athens to move their treasury to the island of Delos. Artaxerxes also famously received the ostracized Greek general Themistocles (who had been in command of the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis) when he was ostracized by Athens, making an ally out of Persia’s greatest enemy.

Persia certainly had more than just these four kings. Luther writes, “These four are said to be standing up in Persia because they were especially distinguished beyond the others… these are the most important” (LW 35:306).

So we see here prophetically:

1, Three important kings would arise in Persia.
2, A fourth would be wealthier than all of them.
3, When he had become powerful through his wealth, he would stir everyone up against the kingdom of Greece.

All of these things were true; all of them came to be. This is a lesson in the way that God oversees and directs all of history for the good of his people. For if Paul can say that God “chose us in him before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4), then it follows that in his omniscience God foresaw everything that would transpire in the world, for “the Lord is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3). “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). I could go on, but this doctrine will continue to be put on display throughout this marvelous chapter, and there is no reason to shoot my entire arsenal in salute while we are still only on the second verse of the chapter. There are many more brigades and regiments of testimony to pass in review before this cavalcade will finish. Unbelievers, therefore, should be warned, for God also knows our sins and our personal failures, and without Christ or faith in Christ all of those things will be held against God’s enemies. But for us, who believe in the Sovereign Son of God, we are comforted because he knows all our troubles and difficulties, and he is always ready to help us, saying, “This is the person I will watch over… the one who trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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