LESSONS FROM DANIEL # 11
This chapter presents the message of the vision itself, concerning the history of Israel in the “latter days” (10:14, particularly the 2nd century BC)
It amplifies the vision of the 70 hébdomads, 9:24
Amazing and extraordinary is the detail with which the revelation specifies events nearly 400 years later (536 BC to 163 BC = 373 years).
This is why the modernists strenuously deny that Daniel wrote before 163 BC -- they deny all that’s supernatural, miraculous (and prophecy is).
11:1, This verse probably pertains to the close of chapter 10. The warring angel stood up and strengthened Michael. Enemy forces were working against Cyrus who promoted the Jews’ return to Palestine.
11:2-4, 11:2, here the revelation begins. Cyrus reigning; 3 more kings (of prominence) to be are:
Cambyses, son of Cyrus; the Artaxerxes of Ezra 4:7,11.
Smerdis,
Darius the Great (Ezra 6:1) conquered Asia Mi-nor, Egypt, part of India; tried to conquer Greece.
The 4th: Xerxes (son of Darius the Great), in Hebrew, Ahasuerus; see Esther 1:1.
He amassed great riches and invaded Greece with a huge army, but was defeated by them. He was assassinated in 465 BC.
11:3, Alexander the Great, 336-323 BC. (See 8:21, rough he-goat, king of Greece).
20 yrs. old when he began to reign; reigned 13 years. After many conquests, he died in Babylon.
Greek language imposed on that known world.
In Alexandria, Egypt, some 50-75 yrs. later, the Septuagint Version (O.T. in Greek) was made.
v.4, Alexander’s empire did not fall to his heirs, but to four of his generals (who would not have the dominion that Alexander had). See 8:22,same
Cassander, over Macedonia
Lysimachus, over Thrace
Antigonus, over Syria, from Mediterranean to central Asia, but Seleucus I takes over from him.
Ptolemy, over Egypt
The Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms treated in this prophecy because they involve the history of Israel (Palestine wanted by both to serve as a buffer between them; thus Israel suffered much).
NORTH, Syria, Seleucid dynasty:Seleucus I Nicator, Antiochus I, Antiochus II, Seleucus II Callinicus, Seleucus III Ceraunus, Antiochus III the Great, Seleucus IV Philopator, Antíochus IV Epiphanes.
SOUTH, Egypt, Ptolemaic dynasty:
Ptolemy Soter, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Ptolemy III Euergetes, Ptolemy IV Philopator,
Ptolemy V Epiphenes, Ptolemy VI Philometor
11:5,6, v.5, “king of the south” = Ptolemy Soter
His general, Seleucus I, defeats Antigonus, and now controls Syria, Babylon and Media. He now is the “king of the north”.
The Jews are a football and land of booty for the north (Syria) and the south (Egypt).
v.6, years pass; first wars, now an alliance be-tween Antiochus II (north) and Ptolemy II (south).
Bernice, daughter of Ptolemy II marries Antio-chus II. What follows is like a modern TV “soap opera”!
The alliance requires that Antiochus II divorce his wife, Laodicea, and he does.

11:7-9, v.7, “shoot” = Ptolemy III Euergetes, the brother of Bernice. He makes war against Seleucus II Callinicus and prevails against him, taking territory and leading captives to Egypt.
v.8, After winning the war, and gaining his pur-poses (he kills Laodicea), carries booty to Egypt and passes the rest of his rule in relative peace.
v.9, Seleucus II Callinicus (about two years la-ter, 240 BC) gains some of his lost territory, at-tacks Egypt, but is defeated, and returns home. Peace is established between the two nations.
11:10-19, v.10, Seleucus II dies, 226 BC. His eldest son, Seleucus III succeeds him; dies, 223 BC. His brother, Antiochus III the Great, now reigns.
In Egypt, Ptolemy III dies (221 BC) and is suc-ceeded by Ptolemy IV Philopator.
Antiochus III the Great launches a war against Egypt (217 BC).
These wars mean much suffering for the Jews.
v.11, Ptolemy IV Philopator, in the decisive battle at Raphia (217 BC), defeats Antiochus III.
v.12, Ptolemy IV does not take advantage of his victory, but returns to spend the rest of his life in self indulgence and dissipation. He dies 203 BC.
v.13, Some 14 years later, Antiochus III, ……….
wants to control Palestine, taking advantage of the reign of Ptolemy IV’s 4-year-old son, Ptolemy V Epiphanes .
The Jews ally themselves with Antiochus III to defeat the Egyptians in Palestine, but without pro-fit, for the Syrians are tyrants who are given to destruction.
v.14, the Jews since the days of Alexander the Great had been under Ptolemaic domination. Certain violent Jews join in with Antiochus’ war against Egypt, but will find themselves worse off.
v.15, the taking of Sidon, where the Egyptian general, Scopas, is defeated. Now (198 BC) Antiochus III has complete control of Syria.
v.16, Josephus, the historian, tells of the entry of Antiochus III into Jerusalem itself and is welcom-ed by the people in general. Palestine is taken from the Ptolomies, but destruction awaits it.
v.17, Antiochus uses diplomacy to conquer Egypt; he promises his daughter, Cleopatra, in marriage to 7-year-old Ptolemy V Epiphanes, thinking thus to destroy him. (God knows our thoughts before we are born and conceive them!)
At age 12, he marries her. But the plan fails; she favors her husband over her father.
v.18, Antiochus III invades Macedonia. He is de-feated by the Romans (a growing power in the west), and must pay indemnity (security against hurt). His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes is sent to Rome as a hostage.
v.19, Antiochus III, to fill his treasury, tries to rob a temple in Armenia, but is killed in battle by the Elamites (187 BC).
11:20-27, v.20, Another son, Seleucus IV Philopator, succeeds to the throne. In order to ….
pay tribute to Rome, he sends Heliodorus to Je-rusalem to confiscate the treasures of the temple.
He is thwarted in his purpose. (See 2 Macca-bees, chapter 3).
The king dies mysteriously (“neither in anger nor in battle”). It is thought that Heliodorus poisoned him.
(The Jews now worse off under Syrian control. This process of purification is preparing the Jews for the coming of the Messiah).
v.21, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the "contemp-tible person”, enters the scene!
In Rome he hears of his brother’s death, and by flatteries / intrigues he usurps the throne in Syria.
He reigns (175 to 164 BC) w/o scruples!
v.22, He made three campaigns against Egypt. He took Jerusalem and sacked the temple. Onias III, the orthodox High Priest, ruled the Jews.
Jason, his brother, promoter of Hellenization, of-fered the king more tribute than Onias. The High Priesthood was given to Jason.
Onias was assassinated (see 2 Macc. chap. 4).
“prince of the covenant” may refer to Onias.
v.23, Perhaps a league between Antiochus IV & Ptolemy V, married to Antiochus’ sister, Cleopatra
Antiochus, with a small people (Syria), becomes strong by use of deceit, hypocrisy, intrigues.
v.24, He outdoes his forebearers in vileness. He “buys off” his soldiers with booty. But his ex-ploits are only temporary, for God is in control!
(1 & 2 Maccabees relate happenings of this period of time as regards Antiochus IV, the “con-temptible person”).
v.25, “king of the south” is now Ptolemy VI Phi-lometor, son of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra; so, he is the nephew of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
Ptolemy VI can’t prevail against Antiochus IV, in part because of treason.
v.26, family members and military advisers be-tray him.
(His brother, Ptolemy Physcon, is named king by the people after Ptolemy VI is captured by Antiochus. Egypt is now divided between two rival brothers, and Antiochus hopes thereby to conquer Egypt).
v.27, Antiochus and Ptolemy VI pretend to be in agreement, each seeking his own cause: Antio-chus seeking to take Egypt, Ptolemy seeking to regain Egypt from his brother, Physcon.
Their intrigues and lies accomplish nothing. In God’s mind the wars between Syria and Egypt are not yet to terminate, along with the bitter con-sequences for the Jews in Palestine.
There are “troublesome times” (9:25) still ahead.
God is in control. Nations will rise and fall when he, not man, decides it!
11:28-35, v.28, Antiochus returns to Syria with booty from Egypt.
Passing through Palestine, he displays his ha-tred for the Jews, despoiling the temple of its gold and precious utensils. (See 1 Macc. 1:20-28)
God is preparing his people to recognize that persecutions are temporary and in the designated time will end. First, the “69 weeks” have to pass, and the coming of the Messiah will bring perfect peace with God and pardon in the blood of Christ.
v.29, “At the time appointed” = everything con-forms to God’s plans!
Antiochus makes his third invasion of Egypt.
Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy Physcon now allies, and resist Antiochus who is besieging Alexandria.
v.30, “ships of Kittim” = Roman soldiers coming from Cyprus, sent by the Roman Senate.
Antiochus ordered to desist and leave Egypt; he with sadness acquiesces.
Returning through Palestine, he vents his anger on the Jews, being helped by apostate Jews.
v.31, His soldiers despoil the temple and take over the city fortress. He puts an end to the con-tinual burnt-offering (morning / evening sacrifices)
“the abomination that maketh desolate” = he erected an altar to Zeus (Jupiter, of the Romans) in the temple, offered swine on the Jews’ altar in the temple, prohibited circumcision, and ordered the Jews to dissolve their laws! Many Jews were killed for disobedience to the Greeks.
Jesus (Matt. 24:15) refers to the “abomination of desolation which was spoken through Daniel”, re-ferring to Dan. 9:27 and the destruction of Jerusa-lem in 70 AD. Here, Antiochus’ “abomination” is a type of the one fulfilled in AD 70.
The one here had temporary results; the one in AD 70 had permanent results!
v.32, Two reactions to the trial of faith:
--the apostates who favored Hellenistic life, moved by sound and not substance, convenience and not conviction.
--the faithful remnant who “know” (approve of) God and do his will, in spite of persecution.
Antioch, by imposing Hellenism (Greek culture), hoped to unite his rule, but his persecution drove many Jews to resistance and exploits.
v.33, the “wise” (in 1 Macc. 2:42, “pious ones”, forerunners of the Pharisees) exhorted others to be faithful to the Law of Moses.
Many, refusing to fight on the Sabbath, suffered death rather than deny their faith.
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Rev. 2:10, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
Mt. 10:28, And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
v.34, In 168 BC the priest Mattathias and his 5 sons initiated a rebellion against the Greeks and gain battlefield victories against great odds.
One son, Judas Maccabeus (“hammer”), gained victories for some 6 years (see 1 Macc. chap. 2). This sacerdotal family reigned over Palestine till 63 BC, when the Romans conquered Palestine.
Many, in hypocrisy and w/o conviction, joined the Maccabees for personal advantage (and some served as spies for the enemy).
v.35, This persecution refined the spiritual Jews.
Cp. 1 Cor. 11:19, For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.
The righteous to suffer, but the time of the end of the Seleucid empire was determined by God.
Events in human history always accommodate themselves to God’s plans!
11:36-39, Who is the “king” of v. 36? The an-swer determines the interpretation of vers. 36-45:
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Romans, Herod the Great, the “Antichrist”. (I favor the 1st of the four).
There is no contextual reason to believe that a change in subject (Antiochus) has taken place. I see vers. 36-45 as a résumé of Antíochus’ poli-tical life.
v.36, Here is described the vainglory of Antio-chus. He attributed to himself presumptuous titles, despoiled temples, prescribed the Jews’ re-ligion, blasphemed God by profaning the temple.
His wrath against the Jews was a time determin-ed by God, who is ever in control.
v. 37, his arrogance and personal pride! He fol-lows no god but military power.
v.38, his political life described. He adores only the god of war and military might, dedicating great treasures to the service of this “god”.
v.39, Antiochus was an opportunist, using any “god” convenient for overcoming strong fortress-es. He “bought off” collaborators with positions and booty. (A typical politician-mentality).
Those who deny God always turn to Mammon!
11:40-43, continuation of the recapitulation of Antiochus’ political life; not prophecies of events subsequent to those narrated up to ver. 35.
v.40, “time of the end” (as in 8:19) = the times of anguish for the Jews resulting from the conflicts between Syria (north) and Egypt (south).
v.41, “glorious land” = Palestine. Antiochus with the sword “converts” many Jews to paganism.
(Why Edom, Moab, and Ammon escape, we are not told).
v.42, Egypt was the bulls-eye of Antiochus in ex-panding his empire, this putting the Jews in the middle, contributing to their tragedies, sufferings.
v.43, this characterized his activities.
11:44,45, v.44, He takes half of his army to fight uprisings in the east (Media, Parthia) and north (Armenia).
The other half remained to battle the Maccabees.
Judas Maccabeus defeats the Syrian army in 165 BC, thus freeing Palestine. He cleansed Je-rusalem of paganism and rededicated the temple (Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah = festival of lights Dec. 25th, for eight days -- See 1 Macc. chap. 4).
v.45, Antiochus ruled over Palestine, but died insane in Persia in 164 BC, alone, without help, far from his home in Syria.
God has revealed to Daniel the history of God’s people from the edict of Cyrus, permitting the Jews to return from 70 years of captivity, to the end of the time of indignation imposed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
The message: God is controlling national events supposedly brought about by men, and is realiz-ing his plans for his people as respects the Messiah’s coming and kingdom.
The faithful pass through many trials of faith, but God is always their Savior.

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