Daniel 11:40-45

d. PROSTRATION

TEXT: Daniel 11:40-45

40

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with 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 through.

41

He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42

He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43

But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

44

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.

45

And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

QUERIES

a.

Why did the king of the south contend with the king of the north?

b.

How was he able to make such extensive advances into Egypt?

c.

What were the tidings which disturbed him?

PARAPHRASE

Yes, to summarize, the end of the troublous times for God's people will be during the wars between the king of Egypt and the king of Syria. The king of Syria will be the most powerful and he will react with the strength and fury of a whirlwind; his vast army and navy will flood through many lands. He will invade and conquer many lands, including the Holy Land; however, Moab, Edom, and most of Ammon will escape his ravages. On the other hand Egypt and many other lands will be occupied by the king of Syria. In fact, he will capture great amounts of gold and silver and other treasurers of Egyptthe people of Libya and Ethiopia will also be enslaved by him. But all this will not last forever, for alarming news shall come to him from the eastern and northern reaches of his empire and he will be forced to return. This will make him very angry and as he proceeds toward the trouble in his empire he will destroy as he goes. Even though he may pitch his war-tents between the Holy City and the sea, and appear invincible, yet he will eventually come to his end and there will be no one to help him when his end comes.

COMMENT

Daniel 11:40-43. AT THE TIME OF THE END. We believe these verses to be a general summarization of the whole war-like career of Antiochus Epiphanes especially against Egypt and Israel. There are no historical records of a fourth Syrian campaign against Egypt with details to fit this context. This, however, does not necessarily mean such a campaign did not actually take place. The careful Bible-believer has learned that the silence of history does not necessarily prove biblical prophecy contradictory. The silence of history only proves the silence of history! When more history is uncovered by the archaeologist's spade, we may find more of biblical prophecy confirmed (cf. our comments on Belshazzar, chapter 5). For present purposes, however, we prefer to regard this section as a recapitulation of the life of The Contemptible One (Antiochus) who is to appear at the end-time of the Jew's indignation. This is, in our opinion, preferable to The Antichrist theory which is unsound contextually and historically. The careful reader will have noted that much of what has already been said of Antiochus Epiphanes fits this summary.

This recapitulation of the overwhelming and devastating decade of Antiochus-' reign would also make the prophecy (Daniel 11:44-45) of his end more emphatic. It would say, in other words, Yes, even though this king of the north may do his worst, he too shall pass away.

Daniel 11:44-45. TIDINGS. SHALL TROUBLE HIM. HE SHALL COME TO HIS END. Antiochus had his armies in the field in Judea attempting to put down the Maccabean revolt when he received alarming news from Parthia and Armenia. Insurrection was spreading in the east and north of his empire also and so Antiochus was obliged to set out upon expedition to Parthia and Armenia to quell this revolt. He left Lysias behind, as regent and guardian of his young son, Antiochus V, with orders to depopulate Judea. Lysias at once dispatched a large body of troops under the command of Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias; and with them came merchants to purchase the expected Jewish slaves. At Emmaus, Judas Maccabeaus inflicted so singular a defeat upon Gorgias that the Syrian troops fled out of the country. In 165 B.C. Lysias in person led a still larger army against Judas, but was completely defeated at Bethzur. Judas regained possession of the entire country and on the 25th of Chislev (December) entered the Temple and removed all the signs of paganism which had been installed there. The altar dedicated to Jupiter was taken down and a new altar was erected to the God of Israel. The statue of Zeus-Antiochus was ground to dust. Beginning with the 25th of Chislev they observed an eight-day Feast of Dedication, known as Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights. In this way they celebrated the end of the three-year period during which the Temple had been desecrated.

Meanwhile Antiochus had been baffled in an attempt to plunder in Elymais the temple of Nanaea. He retired to Babylon, and moved from there to Tabae in Persia, where he became mad and died 164 B.C.
The heroic Maccabean struggle lasted another 29-30 years. Much blood was, shed. Eventually an uneasy peace came to the Holy Land in 134 B.C. when Hasmonean dynasty began to rule, For some 60 years, filled with hate, intrigue and murder within the Hasmonean family, the land of the Jews knew no foreign occupancy. Following the death of Alexandra, her sons Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II were fighting for the right of succession. The news of the chaos in Palestine reached Rome. Pompey, the Roman general who had been so successful in bringing Roman power to the East, determined to intervene. Palestine was then occupied by the Romans, the fourth world empire, during whose reign the kingdom of God was to be established by the coming of the anointed one (the Messiah).
So Daniel has, in fine detail, painted a panorama of predicted history from the release of the captive Jews from Persia by edict of Cyrus, through troublous times, to the end of the indignation and the death of Antiochus IV, all in preparation for the coming of the anointed one. His message in all this: God will not desert His people and His holy covenant in any of the storms and changing events of the history of the nations, but He will send deliverance in the precise moment when their need has reached its highest point.

QUIZ

1.

Why is it preferable to regard this section as a recapitulation of the career of Antiochus IV?

2.

Why does the absence of historical data regarding this section not necessarily invalidate it?

3.

What is the overall message of Daniel in this eleventh chapter?