What does Daniel 11:4 mean?
The angel speaking—probably Gabriel (Daniel 8:15–16; 9:21–22; 10:18–21; Luke 1:26)—has predicted that four rulers would come after Cyrus of Persia. The fourth would be amazingly wealthy and powerful and would initiate war against Greece. Later, another ruler would arise lacking any apparent limit to his power. The fourth king would be Xerxes, the Persian who invaded Greece. The later ruler would be Alexander the Great, who famously conquered an enormous territory in a brief time. Despite Alexander's success, he died in 323 BC without an established heir; his kingdom was eventually split four ways among his generals: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy (Daniel 11:5).The angel describes the division of the empire as it being "plucked up," like a carcass worked over by vultures. History confirms this prediction, as well as prior prophecies given to Daniel. The speedy conquest and eventual four-way division of the empire were symbolized earlier using a winged leopard (Daniel 7:6) and the horns of a goat (Daniel 8:5, 8).
