The historical aspect of this chapter in the book of Daniel was researched
and put together by
Eschatology
in the Prophecies of Daniel website. More specifically, their
study
on Daniel 11. Credit where credit is due, I’m no history buff.
I would also like to thank Ryszard Ewiak for his input on the history. It’s
absolutely amazing how accurate the Bible is in prophecy. We should expect
the future end to happen just as scripture says. This prophecy was given
in the third year of Cyrus. Daniel 10:1
Daniel 11 1,2:
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm
and to strengthen him. And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there
shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far
richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall
stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
Xerxes I Ahasuerus (486-465 BC) was the fourth Persian king after
Cyrus, who married a Jewess named Esther, and attempted to conquer
Greece in 480 BC but failed to conquer.
[Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)] 3,4: And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule
with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall
stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the
four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his
dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for
others beside those.
With Alexander’s premature death in 323 BC, the Grecian Empire
was broken into four separate divisions under the control of four
former generals who became kings sixteen years later, after considerable
political wrangling and the murder of all of Alexander’s heirs.
Seleucus I - who began the Seleucid (Syrian)
empire, from Turkey to India
Cassander - who took over Macedonia (Greece)
Lysimachus - who took Thracia (between
Greece and Turkey)
Ptolemy I - who ruled over Egypt
[Ptolemy I Soter (323-285 BC)] 5: And the king of the south shall be strong, and one
of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion;
his dominion shall be a great dominion.
Ptolemy I ruled over Egypt and the land of Israel for 38 years and
Seleucus I ruled over Babylonia, adding extensive territories both
east and west. Ultimately, Seleucus I united three of the four kingdoms
under his control as king of the North.
6: And in the end of years they shall join themselves
together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the
king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the
power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall
be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he
that strengthened her in these times.
Ptolemy Ceraunus, younger brother of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246
BC), killed Seleucus I. Antiochus I Soter (280-261 BC) succeeded
his father Seleucus I and was succeeded by his son Antiochus II
Theos (261-246 BC). Berenice II, daughter of the king of Egypt,
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC), married Antiochus II. Ptolemy
II died and Antiochus II restored Laodice and put away Berenice
II. Antiochus II was then poisoned by Laodice, and placed her son
Seleucus II Callinicus (246-226 BC) on the throne. Afterwards, Seleucus
II killed Berenice and her son at Daphne near Antioch.
[Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221 BC)] 7,8: But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand
up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into
the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them,
and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods,
with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of
gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
The death of Berenice resulted in war between Seleucus II Kallinikos “The
king of the north” and Berenice’s brother Ptolemy III
Euergetes “king of the south” (246-221
BC), who became the king of Egypt after the death of his father.
He attacked Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Babylonia, and Mesopotamia,
capturing each. Ptolemy III overtook Antioch and/or Seleucia, the
port of Antioch, where he recovered 2,500 Egyptian gods and 40,000
talents of silver which had been carried off to Syria by the Persian
king Cambyses, when he conquered Egypt in 525 BC.
9,10: So the king of the south shall come into his
kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred
up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly
come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred
up, even to his fortress.
Seleucus III Ceraunus (226-223 BC) and Antiochus III Magnus “The
king of the north” (223-187 BC), respectively, succeeded their
father Seleucus II. Ptolemy IV Philopater (221-203 BC) succeeded
Ptolemy III as king of Egypt, and, he was attacked by Antiochus
III, who beat the army of Ptolemy IV near Berytus. Fighting with
an army of 78,000 men, Antiochus III (the Great) took the battle
as far as the fortress of the city of Raphia in southern Palestine.
[Battle for Raphia in 217 BC] 11,12: And the king of the south shall be moved with
choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king
of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude
shall be given into his hand. And when he hath taken away the multitude,
his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands:
but he shall not be strengthened by it.
The historian Polybius recorded that during the battle for Raphia
in 217 BC, the raging defensive forces of Ptolemy IV, “The
king of the south,” which numbered 75,000 men defeated the
attacking forces of Antiochus III, “The king of the north,”
and killed 10,000 infantrymen. However, subsequently, a force of
Egyptians fought internally against Ptolemy IV who was puffed up
with pride and living in luxury after his victory over Antiochus
III. The civil battles resulted in the death of 60,000 Egyptian
citizens.
[Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203-181 BC)] 13,14: For the king of the north shall return, and
shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly
come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And
in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south:
also the robbersH1121,H6530[violent, tyrannical sons] of thy people
shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
After the death of Ptolemy IV, he was succeeded by his son Ptolemy
V Epiphanes (203-181 BC), who proceeded to battle with Antiochus
III over Syria and Phoenicia. Jews from the land of Israel joined
the forces of Antiochus III in the battle against Ptolemy V, but
were defeated by the Ptolemaic general Scopas in 200 BC.
15-17: So the king of the north shall come, and cast
up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south
shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there
be any strength to withstand. [The next year,
Antiochus III defeated general Scopas, capturing the port city of Sidon,
recovering Syria and Phoenicia.] But he that cometh against him
shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him:
and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be
consumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his
whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall
give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand
on his side, neither be for him.
Antiochus III was in command of a very large army, easily conquering
the land of Israel, and obtaining the voluntary loyalty of the Jews
without any resistance. While preparing for war with the Romans,
Antiochus III came to the city of Raphia on the border of Egypt
and made peace with Ptolemy V. In an effort to gain control in Egypt,
Antiochus III offered his daughter Cleopatra I in marriage to Ptolemy
V in 194 BC, however, after the marriage Cleopatra I became loyal
to her husband, who sustained his control over Egypt.
[Fall of Antiochus III Magnus in 187 BC] 18,19: After this shall he turn his face unto the isles,
and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the
reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall
cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort
of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
The following year, Antiochus III turned his attention to Asia Minor
and mainland Greece where some Grecian cities were under Roman control.
The fleet of Antiochus III was twice defeated at sea by the Roman
fleet near Phoceia and near Ephesus. Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I then
sent an embassy to Rome to congratulate the Romans on their victory
and to encourage the Romans to press on with the war in Asia. According
to
1 Maccabees 1:10, during the war, Epiphanes, son of Antiochus
III was captured and was taken to Rome as a hostage. Ultimately
defeated in 190 BC by the Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
in the battle of Magnesia in Asia Minor, Antiochus III retired to
the remainder of his kingdom and was killed three years later by
the Persians, as he was robbing the temple of Jupiter Belus in Elymais,
to raise money to pay the tributes imposed by the Romans.
[Seleucus IV Philopator (187 - 175 BC)] 20: Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes
in the glory of the kingdom: but within few daysH3117
he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
Antiochus III was succeeded by his son Seleucus IV Philopator (187
- 175 BC). As a tributary of the Romans, Seleucus IV sent his tax
collector, Heliodorus, to rob the temple of Jerusalem to obtain
money, however, Heliodorus engineered a conspiracy against Seleucus
IV and killed him. Shortly before the death of Seleucus IV, he sent
his son Demetrius to Rome in a hostage swap for his brother Antiochus
IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC), who succeeded him.
[Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC) -
Type of the antichrist] 21-23: And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom
they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of
a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken;
yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with
him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become
strong with a small people.
According to
2 Maccabees 3:1, Jerusalem was in complete peace under Seleucus
IV who provided kingdom revenues in support of the daily sacrificial
services. After the murder of Seleucus, Heliodorus,
treasurer of the kingdom, assumed interim leadership. Antiochus
IV who was in Athens at the time of his brother’s death, negotiated
directly with the Romans, convincing them to keep Demetrius, rightful
heir to the throne, in Rome as hostage. Through the Romans, as a
part of a private friendship agreement with the king of Pergamus,
who was given a portion of the kingdom of Antiochus III in return
for assisting the Romans, it was determined that Antiochus IV would
become king, in return for annual tribute to the Romans and the
king of Pergamus. The king of Pergamus expelled Heliodorus and placed
Antiochus IV on the throne.
Not the direct heir to the throne,
Antiochus IV distinguished himself, as more of a commoner, by stealing
from the palace treasury, rambling around town in Roman officer
disguise, and drinking and carousing with people of the lowest rank.
Taken for a madman by many in Syria, he deposed Onias the Jewish
high-Priest, and sold the priesthood to Jason, the younger brother
of Onias for 440 talents of silver. Onias was subsequently killed
by Andronicus, deputy to Antiochus IV in Antioch. While Antiochus
IV was away in Egypt, a false rumor spread that he was dead, sending
Judea into revolt. Antiochus IV returned to Jerusalem with his vast
army and indiscriminately killed 80,000 Jews from young to old,
and sold another 40,000 Jews into slavery.
24: He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of
the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done,
nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey,
and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against
the strong holds, even for a time.
Antiochus IV exacted tributes from the Palestinian nations, advanced
the Grecian ideals and worship of pagan gods throughout his kingdom,
appointed his cronies to positions of power as tribute collectors,
allowed his friends to plunder the temple wealth, and he set his
sights on capturing all of Egypt. He allowed the position of Jewish
high-Priest to be bought and sold by the highest apostate bidder,
and, according to
2 Maccabees 4:30, he gave the peoples of Tarsus and Mallus to
his mistress, as a gift.
25,26: And he shall stir up his power and his courage
against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the
south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army;
but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and
his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
Upon the death Antiochus’s sister Cleopatra I, the eunech
Eulaeus, personal governor of Cleopatra’s son, claimed Phoenicia
and Coelosyria from Antiochus IV as a dowery for the young boy king.
In 170 BC, Antiochus IV attacked and overtook the Egyptian army
between Pelusium and the mountain Casius. Capable of destroying
the whole Egyptian army, Antiochus IV spared many as a friendly
gesture, and, soon after, he captured all of the Egyptian cities,
which he also befriended. Antiochus IV blamed the war on Eulaeus,
personal governor to Ptolemy VI Philometer (181-146 BC), so as to
make friends with the young boy king.
27: And both of these kings’ hearts shall be
to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall
not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
Antiochus IV entered into an outward, sycophant uncleship with the
young king Ptolemy VI and let him assist with affairs of the kingdom,
from the Egyptian city of Memphis. Egyptians in the city of Alexandria,
seeing that Ptolemy VI was in the custody of Antiochus IV, declared
Euergetes, younger brother to Ptolemy VI, to be the next king of
Egypt. Pretending to establish Ptolemy VI on the Egyptian throne,
Antiochus IV made war upon Euergetes and beseiged him and Euergetes’s
sister in Alexandria, defeating the Egyptian navy at sea. At the
same time, the Egyptians in Alexandria sent emissaries to Rome to
request assistance.
28: Then shall he return into his land with great riches;
and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits,
and return to his own land.
Antiochus IV returned to Syria in the spring of 169 BC, leaving
Ptolemy VI to rule from Memphis. During the winter, Ptolemy VI and
his brother Euergetes reconciled and were reunited in Alexandria,
where Ptolemy VI assumed the role of the king of Egypt. While in
Judea on the way to Syria, Antiochus IV directed his captains to
make spoil of the Judean and Jewish wealth, capturing 1,800 talents
of gold and silver, including the gold altar from the temple in
Jerusalem, to be taken to Antioch. He ordered Apollonium, a captain
of 22,000 men, to enter Jerusalem on the Sabbath in a parade of
arms, killing grown men who came out to see them, taking young men
and women captive, and selling them as slaves for money.
29,30: At the time appointed he shall return, and come
toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall
be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant:
so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them
that forsake the holy covenant.
Returning to Egypt in the spring of 168 BC to besiege Alexandria
and the two young boy Egyptian kings, Antiochus IV was met by the
Roman ambassadors, Popilius Loena, C. Decimius, and C. Hostilius.
Prior to accepting a kiss on the hand from Antiochus IV, Popilius
gave written tables to Antiochus IV upon which the Roman Senate
had issued a decree of support for Egypt. Popilius drew a circle
on the ground around Antiochus IV, and directed him to immediately
offer his decision regarding his intentions toward the Egyptians,
before leaving the circle he was standing in. Shocked by the approach
of Popilius, Antiochus IV acknowledged the Roman demands and then
he kissed the hand of Popilius, with the agreement to retreat to
Syria. Antiochus IV returned to Syria, sulked at his treatment by
the Romans, and vented his anger on his subjects the Jews by setting
up the worship of heathen gods in all Judea, and, he killed those
who would not worship his gods.
31: And arms shall stand on his part, and
they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the
daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
According to
1 Maccabees 1:44-57, Antiochus IV sent word to Jerusalem to
stop all burnt offerings and sacrifices. He ordered an end to circumcision,
burned the books of the Law, erected altars in the sacred precincts
of the temple of Jerusalem for the sacrifice of hogs and unclean
cattle, erected a dreadful desecration upon the altar in the temple
of Jerusalem, erected pagan altars in all Judean towns, and ended
the burning of incense. And, according to
2 Maccabees 6:2 - 6:6, the forces of Antiochus IV forbade Sabbath
worship, covered the altar of the temple in Jerusalem with abominable
offerings, amused themselves by lying with prostitutes in the sacred
precincts of the temple, and renamed the temple as Zeus Olympius.
The dreadful desecration, known as the abomination that causes desecration,
set up in the location of the altar in the temple of Jerusalem in
168 BC, was an altar and statue to the pagan god Jupiter (Zeus Olympius).
32,33: And such as do wickedly against the covenant
shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God
shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the
people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by
flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
The Jews were forced underground in order to keep the Sabbath and
Antiochus IV openly rewarded apostate Jews with positions of responsibility.
In
2 Maccabees 6 & 7, the stories of the deaths of Eleazar,
a leading scribe, and a mother and her seven sons are told. Eleazar
set an example for others by refusing to eat pork and voluntarily
submitting to the torture wheel. The mother and her seven sons each
refused to submit and were skinned alive, dismembered, and boiled
in a hot pan. Despite attempts by Antiochus IV to convince the youngest
son with flattery and promised riches, the son set an example for
other youths to follow the laws of their fathers and forefathers,
even unto death.
34:Now when they shall fall, they shall be
holpenH5826
with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
Observing the cruelties of Antiochus IV, Judas, who was called Maccabeus,
and his followers secretly entered the villages of Judea and called
on their kinsmen to join them in revolt. By enlisting those who
had clung to the Jewish religion, they mustered 6,000 men, and were
joined by the Hasideans, who were war-like Israelite volunteers.
At the same time, Judas selected Eupolemus and Jason to go to the
Roman Senate as emissaries to request assistance. The Roman Senate
was sympathetic and sent brass tablets to Jerusalem with a written
testimony of Roman support for the Jews.
35: And some of them of understanding shall fall, to
try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of
the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
The story of the death of the elderly scribe Eleazar in
2 Maccabees 6, is the most poignant story regarding the willingness
of the wise to stumble under the Law. Given the choice of violating
his conscience by eating pork to extend his natural life, or violating
Jewish law by submitting to obvious suicidal death, Eleazar went
straight to the torture wheel and ordered his oppressors to send
him down to Hades at once. As he was dying, he said, “The
Lord, in his holy knowledge, knows that, though I might have escaped
death, I endure dreadful pains in my body from being flogged; but
in my heart I am glad to suffer this, because I fear Him.”
Similarly, one of the seven tortured sons, at the point of death,
said to his oppressors, “Do not be falsely deceived; for
we suffer these things because of ourselves, for we sin against
our own God, so these amazing things have happened. But you must
not suppose that you will go unpunished for having attempted to
fight against our God.”
[The Time of the End] My comments only follow...
I believe from verse 36 on, scripture is referring
to the time of the end yet future. Verse 35 places the timing “even
to the time of the end,” leading me to believe what
follows is at the time of the end. Furthermore, Daniel 12 goes on
to describe in greater detail the time of the abomination of desolation,
tied also with Revelation 12:7-17 and the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians
2.
[The future antichrist] 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.
This will be when Christ returns in glory
and throws the antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:20 He will prosper for 42 months according to
Revelation 13:5
[Description of the antichrist] 37-45: Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,
nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for
he shall magnify himself above all. But
in his estate shall he honour the God of forcesH4581:
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver,
and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the
most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and
increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and
shall divide the land for gain.
And at the time of the end shall
the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come
against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and
with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow
and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many
countries shall be overthrown: but these shall
escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children
of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries:
and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over
the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things
of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:
therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly
to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace
between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to
his end, and none shall help him.
Could it be that Edom, Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon are
the destination of protection in the wilderness for the remnant of the children
of Israel that flee the
time of Jacob’s trouble?
Daniel 11:37-38 cannot refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The
two verses indicate that the individual in view will not show favor
to any gods and will honor a god of fortress who was not worshipped
by his ancestors. Antiochus IV does not fit either of these descriptions,
particularly in his religious gifts to the Greek cities. The balance
of evidence favors the fifth view that holds Daniel 11:36-45 is
a prophecy to be fulfilled by a future king.
“Be not overcome
of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
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