Lesson 2 Standing Firm until the End (Oct. 22, 2009)
Prophecy fulfilled – Daniel (Part 2) Verses followed by fulfillment.
Daniel 11:2-33
2 “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
The “three more kings” are:
- Cambyses, the elder son of Cyrus
- Pseudo-Smerdis, an impostor who passed himself off as Cyrus’s younger son who had been secretely killed
- Darius the Persian
The Fourth:
- The Persian King Xerxes who stirred up everyone against the kingdom of Greece and reigned from 485-464 B.C.”
3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4 After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
- The “mighty king” is Alexander the Great who’s reign was comparatively brief (7-8 years) but incredible
- After his stunning military conquests he lived only four years before dying of a fever in 323
- Alexander’s kingdom was divided among four smaller and weaker empires.
- His infant son was murdered in 310 and had no other descendants to succeed him
- His generals warred for control of his empire and all but four were eliminated in the struggle
- The four victors who became heads of the four divisions of Alexander’s empire were Cassander, reigning in Greece and the West, Lysimachus in Thrace and Asia Minor, Ptolemy in Egypt and Seleucus in Syria. Of these four, two- Ptolemy and Seleucus expanded their rule and territory as kings of Egypt and Syria, respectively. They are referred to as the king of the South (Ptolemy) and the king of the North (Seleucus) because of their location relative to Jerusalem.
- The intrigues that follow relate to these two.
5 “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.
- Seleucus, who had originally served under Ptomemy ended up being more powerful and gained control over Syria. His dynasty continued until 64 B.C,.
6 After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power [a] will not last. In those days. She will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father [b] and the one who supported her.
- There was hostility and tension between the kings of the South and North but in 252 the two powers attempted a treaty in which a marriage between Bernice, the daughter of Ptolomy II and Antiochus II, the king of the North was arranged.
- The first wife of Antiochus II, Laodice retaliated by plotting the assination of Berenice and her infant son.
- Not long afterwards, Antiochus II was poisoned.
- Laodice was then able to established herself as queen because her son Seleusus II was too young to rule. The prophecy “she [Berenice] will be handed over” refers to the coup that Laodice engineered.
- Some nobles (her royal escort) who had supported Berenice as queen were also brought down.
7 “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.
- A series of military retaliation followed which came to be known as the Laodicean War
- Ptolemy II died soon after Laodice killed his daughter Bernice
- PtolemyIII seeking revenge for his sister’s death attacked the king of the North and captured the Syrian capital of Antioch taking back idols and sacred treasures that had been stolen from Egypt by Cambyses in 524 B.C.
- Hostilities between Ptolemy III and Selecus II ceased until 221 when Ptolemy III died
10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. 11 “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. 12 When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant.
- The sons of Seleucus II attacked the king of the South after their father died
- One of these sons, Seleucus III, reigned for only three years. His military activity was relatively minor and he died by poisoning
- Another son, Antiochus III conquered Judea
- Ptolemy IV, the king of the South, retailiated and defeated the larger army of SeleucusII at the Battle of Raphia
- After his victory, Ptolemy turned to a life of debauchery and slaughtered tens of thousands of Jews in Egypt. Because of this he weakened his kingdom
13 For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. 14 “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. 15 Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. 16 The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it
- 14 years after his defeat, Antiochus III came against Ptolemy V, still a young boy. (Ptolemy IV had died in 203.) .) The Egyptian provinces were in turmoil because of the wretched rule of Ptolemy IV.
- Many of the people—including Jews sympathetic to the king of the North—joined with Antiochus against the king of the South
- The rebellion was ultimately crushed by the Egyptian general Scopus (verse 14) who also rebuffed the forces of Antiochus during the winter of 201 -200
- The king of the North responded with another invasion capturing the city of Sidon where Scopus surrendered
- Antiochus acquired complete control of the Holy Land (the Beautiful Land)
17 He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans [c] will not succeed or help him. After defeating Scopus, Antiochus wanted control of Egypt so he gave his daughter, Cleopatra to Ptolemy V in maraiage
- Antiochus believed his daughter would betray the interests of her husband and help him but she ruined his plans by siding with Ptolemy
18 Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him. 19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
- In his frustration, Antiochus attacked islands and cities of the Aegean area. He also gave asylum to Rome’s enemy, Hannibal of Carthage, who helped him land in Greece
- Rome responded by attacking Antiochus and defeating his forces. The Romans deprived him of much of his territory and took several hostages to Rome, including Antiochus’s son. Rome exacted heavy tribute of him.
- Antiochus returned in disgrace to his stronghold, Antioch where he plundered a pagan temple in an attempt to pay the heavy fees extracted by the Romans. His action so enraged local inhabitants that they killed him.
20 “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
- While not Scripture, the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees 3:7-40 says that Antiochus’s other son, Seleucus IV, was also unable to pay the taxes so Seleusus sent a Jew, Heliodorus to plunder the temple at Jerusalem. Heliodorus went to the holy city but was unable to accomplish his mission.
- Seleucus was later poisoned by Heliodorus
21 “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. 22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. 23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. 24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time. 25 “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. 26 Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. 27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. 29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands [d] will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
- Antiochus IV also known as Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus IV, who had earlier been taken hostage to Rome. He was a tyrannical oppressor who did his utmost to destroy the Jewish religion altogether
- Antiochus passed laws that forbade the practice of the Jewish religion, under penalty of death.
He was a man of incredible cruelty. On his orders “an aged Scribe, Eleazar, was flogged to death because he refused to eat swine’s flesh. A mother and her seven children were successively butchered, in the presence of the governor, for refusing to pay homage to an image. Two mothers who had circumcised their new-born sons were driven through the city and cast headlong from the wall.
31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
- Dec. 16, 168 B.C. a crazed Antiochus entered Jerusalem and killed 80,000 men, women and children (2 Maccabees 5:11-14). He then desecrated the temple by offering a sacrifice to the chief Greek god, Zeus. This outrage was a forerunner of a comparable event that Jesus Christ said would occur in the last days (Matthew 24:15).
32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33 “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
- The Maccabee, a family of priests resisted Antiochus and his successors with amazing courage. The Maccabees’ revolt against the Syrian king was triggered when “Mattathias, the leading priest in the city of Modein …, after killing the officer of Antiochus who had come to enforce the new decree concerning idolatrous worship …, led a guerrilla band that fled to the hills …”
Mattathias was aided in his cause by five sons, most notably Judah or Judas, nicknamed 0
Maqqaba (Aramaic for hammer, whence derives the name Maccabees). Many of these patriots died in this cause, but their heroics ultimately drove the Syrian forces drove them out of Israel.
