Daniel 11:21-28

b. PROSPERITY

TEXT: Daniel 11:21-28

21

And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

22

And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

23

And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall become strong, with a strong people.

24

In time of security shall he come 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 prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he shall devise his devices against the stronghold, even for a time.

25

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 war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise devices against him.

26

Yea, they that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.

27

And as for both these kings, their 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.

28

Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure, and return to his own land.

QUERIES

a.

Why call the next king of the north contemptible?

b.

When was the time of security?

c.

When did both kings speak lies at one table?

PARAPHRASE

And in the place of the murdered king of Syria will come one to the throne who is held in contempt and despised. He will not be legal heir to the throne but will gain it by stealth and intrigue in a time when men think all is safe and secure. And it shall be a time when armies shall surge back and forth through the land. This despised king of Syria will finally sweep away all opposition and in these troublous times also the high priest of the covenant people shall lose his life. From the very first when he makes alliances his method will be deceit, and with a mere handful of followers he will become strong. He will enter the richest areas of the land when people are unaware and do what none of his predecessors before him did; he will plunder and extort the properties of the people and distribute it lavishly to buy influence among men. By such devices he will capture powerful strongholds throughout his dominion, but this will last for only a short time. Then this contemptible one will stir up his courage and raise a great army against Egypt: and Egypt, too, will raise a mighty army, but to no avail, for treachery will be used against the king of Egypt. Those of his own court, who eat at his table, will bring his downfall; his army will desert, and many will be killed. Both these kings will plot deception against each other while they pretend to gather around a conference table to talk of peace. But it will not matter for there is an appointed time, sure and certain, decreed by the will of God when their end shall come. The despised Syrian king will return home with great riches. But his antagonism against the people of God will move him to malevolently ravage their land as he passes through on his way home to Syria. When he has satisfied his brutish rage he will return to his own land.

COMMENT

Daniel 11:21. A CONTEMPTIBLE PERSON. This is the notorious Antiochus (IV) Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.). Epiphanes means illustrious one. Antiochus gave himself this name. The Jews called him, Epimanes which means mad-man, The term contemptible one probably has reference to his non-royal lineage and illegal usurpation of the Syrian throne. When he assumed rule of Syria there were three aspirants to the throne: Demetrius I (Soter), son of Seleucus IVsent as a boy to Rome, by his father, to serve as a hostage, he remained there quietly during his father's life and was detained there aslo during the reign of his uncle, Antiochus Epiphanes; a younger brother of Demetrius I, named Antiochus, a baby in Syria; and Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), brother of the late king Seleucus IV. Antiochus IV had also served as a hostage to Rome for fourteen years. He happened to be at Athens when the death of his brother, Seleucus IV, came.

The way Antiochus IV came to rule is indicated by the phrase, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom. The kingdom was not given to him by right of succession; he took it! His manner of taking it was catching people unawares in times when they thought things were safe and secure and by intrigue and deceit. He began by posing as the guardian of the boy-king Antiochus; and later, when the boy-king was murdered by Antronicus, Antiochus promptly put Andronicus to death. By flattery he won over the kings of Pergamus to his cause, and the Syrians gave in peaceably. He was a master of intrigue.

Daniel 11:22. THE OVERWHELMING FORCES SHALL BE OVERWHELMED. A graphic description of the troublous times (Daniel 9:25) when armies of the Syrians and Ptolemies shall surge back and forth through the land. This could very well be a generalizing of Antiochus-' first campaign against Egypt. He attempted three such expeditions against Egypt. The second campaign (170 B.C.) is probably that indicated in Daniel 11:25 and the third (168 B.C.) indicated in Daniel 11:30.

In these troublous times also the high priest shall lose his rule predicted by the statement that the prince of the covenant shall be broken. In the early days of the reign of Antiochus IV, Jerusalem was ruled by the High Priest, Onias III, a descendant of Simon the Just, and a strictly orthodox Jew. The Jews who looked favorably (and there were large numbers of them) on Greek culture opposed Onias and espoused the cause of his brother, Jason. By promising larger tribute to Antiochus, Jason succeeded in having himself appointed High Priest and Onias was slain by command of Antiochus in 172 B.C. Jason (who had changed his name from the Hebrew Joshua to the Greek Jason) encouraged the Hellenizing of Palestine. A gymnasium was built in Jerusalem. Jewish lads exercised there in the nude. Greek names were adopted in place of the Jewish names by people and for cities. Hebrew ways and doctrines were looked upon as behind the times.
In opposition to this paganizing of their culture there arose a resistance movement so zealous it became fanatical. The Hasidim (the separated ones) swore to follow the ways of their fathers, even welcoming death to do so. This caused consternation in the Syrian court and Antiochus sought a means of solving the unrest in Palestine. The opportunity came for a change in Palestine when a dispute arose between Jason and one of his closest associates. Menelaus, of the tribe of Benjamin, could make no legal claim to the office of high priest, but by offering higher tribute to Antiochus than that being paid by Jason, he was nominated to the office of High Priest. A Syrian garrison was stationed in the citadel in Jerusalem to insure order and respect for the new High Priest. This infuriated the Hasidim, and Jason began plotting ways and means to regain his office.

Daniel 11:23. AFTER THE LEAGUE. HE SHALL BECOME STRONG. Meanwhile, Antiochus was on campaign against Egypt. By many devices of intrigue, flattery and deceit, and with a comparatively small army, he won a significant victory at Pelusium and captured Memphis and generally all of lower and central Egypt. He penetrated into the heart of their country before the Egyptians were fully aware of the fact or had made arrangements to resist. Antiochus cagily made it a point to establish as friendly a relation with a defeated opponent as possible. Even while the battle raged at Pelusium, Antiochus displayed great kindness toward the Egyptians, everywhere interfering to check the slaughter by his soldiers, and thus won the hearts of his foes, He also pretended to espouse the cause of Ptolemy Philometor, his one nephew, against that of Ptolemy Physcon (Euergetes II) his other nephewpretending that it was only his nephew's interests that he had at heart. The nephews themselves finally saw that their uncle was practicing deceit, and that he was becoming strong with but a few people by stealth.

Daniel 11:24. HE SHALL DO THAT WHICH HIS FATHERS HAVE NOT DONE. Lower Egypt (which is really the northern part of Egypt) was well known for its fertility and richness. These are the provinces Antiochus captured. Another device of the crafty Antiochus was to lavish upon his troops a distribution of the plunder taken in conquest. Not even his forefathers did this. By this squandering he purchased influence and loyalty. But, as usual, such crass mercenary dealings accomplished only superficial loyalties and his advantages were only for a short time.

While Antiochus was busy fighting in Egypt, Jason raised an army in Transjordan and raided Jerusalem. Menelaus beat off the attack, but it became obvious to Antiochus that large segments of Judaism were still opposed to Hellenism and Syrian control in Palestine. On the return of Antiochus from Egypt Menelaus welcomed him in Jerusalem. What was left of the Temple treasure was placed at his disposal. Since Menelaus was unpopular with many of the Jews, he found it all the more expedient to court the favor of Antiochus.

Daniel 11:25. HE SHALL STIR UP HIS POWER. AGAINST THE KING OF THE SOUTH. Antiochus was forced to return to Syria to quell a revolt of the Tarsians and the Mallotes in Cilicia. The prophet Daniel then predicts that Antiochus will raise a great army and go against the king of Egypt againthis is the second campaign. In this expedition Antiochus came as close as he ever came to subduing the empire of the Ptolemies. Although the king of Egypt would also make elaborate plans for defense, he would be defeated by intrigue and treason on the part of those of his own court. History confirms in exact detail this prophecy.

Daniel 11:26. THEY THAT EAT OF HIS DAINTIES SHALL DESTROY HIM. Probably means Lennaeus and Eulaeus, the guardians and state ministers of the young Ptolemy Physcon, who were betraying him to his enemies. Ptolemy Physcon and Cleopatra had allied themselves against Ptolemy Philometer, their brother, to defend Physcon's rule of Alexandria.

Daniel 11:27. AS FOR BOTH THESE KINGS, THEIR HEARTS SHALL BE TO DO MISCHIEF, AND THEY SHALL SPEAK LIES AT ONE TABLE. The prediction undoubtedly has reference to Antiochus and Ptolemy Philometor. Antiochus called a truce and met Philometor at the conference table. Antiochus pretended to be conducting his campaign against Egypt in order to help Philometor regain total control of Egypt. Philometor pretended to believe him. The decisive victory of this second Egyptian campaign was the victory of Antiochus over Physcon and Cleopatra in a massive naval action near Pelusium. Their lying deals with one another to overthrow Physcon did not prosper. Physcon, to the contrary retained possession of Alexandria and Philometor had to be content with half the kingdom to rule.

The phrase, for yet the end shall be at the time appointed, is very significant. Although Antiochus and Philometor would pretend an alliance to conquer Egypt, it failed because in the appointed time of Almighty God it was not yet time for the end of the wars between Syria and Egypt, which in turn were bringing such troublous times upon the covenant people. God knows exactly when and how the troubled times of His covenant people shall be ended. Their troubles shall come to an end after sixty-nine sevens! (cf. Daniel 9:24-27). The seventieth seven shall be the era in which their troubles shall cease, and the cutting off of a prince shall be how it is accomplished. Thus the peace predicted for the troubled saints was to be the peace found in the Messiah (Jesus) and in His kingdom (the church). Physical circumstances were to have no bearing upon the end of troublous times except to mark the point in history (the end of the Syrian and Egyptian struggles and the end of the Maccabean era) where the Messiah would be ushered in. The end of the saints troubles will come exactly when God has appointed and predicted through Danielin the days of the fourth world empire.

Daniel 11:28 THEN SHALL HE RETURN INTO HIS LAND WITH GREAT SUBSTANCE. After apparent success (which, as later prediction and history confirm, was only temporary) and laden with the spoils of war, Antiochus returned to his own land to attend to its affairs. A part of that land was the Holy Land, and he had to pass through it in order to get to Syria proper. The phrase, ... his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure. it appears, that there was a burning hatred in Antiochus-' heart against the Jews. 1Ma. 1:20-28 is a record of his plundering of the Holy Land. The prophecy here made by Daniel was intended to strengthen the Jews in that future time when it would appear as if evil were prospering under Antiochusthey were to understand that it was only temporary and that in the appointed time of God it would come to an end.

QUIZ

1.

How did Antiochus IV obtain the throne of Syria?

2.

What is the league made with him?

3.

What did he do that his fathers had not done?

4.

Who was the king of the south and how was he destroyed by those who ate of his dainties?

5.

What time is predicted by the end shall be at the appointed time?