DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:1 Mention of THE FIRST YEAR OF DARIUS THE MEDE (539 B.C.) is significant since it was the year when the decree was issued that allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:2 THREE MORE KINGS will ARISE IN PERSIA after Cyrus, and then a FOURTH, who will be RICHER and more powerful than the others. This fourth king was Xerxes I (486–464 B.C.), who invaded GREECE, only to be defeated at the Battle of Salamis (480). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.ge... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:3 The prophecy skips over several lesser Persian kings to focus on the MIGHTY KING who will bring down the Persian Empire and rule a vast realm. He is Alexander the Great (336–323 B.C.). See note on 7:6. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0,... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:4 AS SOON AS HE HAS ARISEN, HIS KINGDOM SHALL BE BROKEN AND DIVIDED TOWARD THE FOUR WINDS OF HEAVEN. See note on 8:8. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:5 Ptolemy I Soter (323–285 B.C., KING OF THE SOUTH) was a very capable general under Alexander. He became ruler of Egypt. About the same time, Seleucus I Nicator (king of the north) started out as a lesser general under Alexander and was given Babylon to rule. One of the oth... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:6 THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF THE SOUTH SHALL COME TO THE KING OF THE NORTH TO MAKE AN AGREEMENT. There was constant conflict between the Ptolemaic (Egyptian) and Seleucid (Syrian) kingdoms. Around 250 B.C. there was an attempt at peace. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reigned 285–... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:7 Egypt’s Ptolemy II was succeeded by Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes I (reigned 246–221 B.C.), A BRANCH FROM HER ROOTS. In retaliation for the death of his sister, Ptolemy III invaded the Seleucid kingdom and conquered its capital, Antioch (HE SHALL COME AGAINST T... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:10 After Seleucus II Callinicus’s death in 226 B.C., his SONS continued fighting with the Ptolemies. Seleucus III was murdered after a short reign, but his brother took the disorganized state and made it a strong nation. In 219–218 B.C. Antiochus III advanced through Phoenic... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:11 Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned 221–204 B.C., KING OF THE SOUTH) responded quickly to Antiochus III’s advances. Antiochus III was defeated at Raphia. Antiochus III’s losses were very high (Ptolemy IV CAST DOWN TENS OF THOUSANDS), yet Ptolemy IV’s victory was short-lived (H... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:13 After about 15 years, Antiochus III (the Great, reigned 223–187 B.C., THE KING OF THE NORTH) invaded Phoenicia and Syria with a GREAT ARMY. Ptolemy IV had died (203 B.C.), and Antiochus III intended to use the instability around the young new king, Ptolemy V Epiphanes (re... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:14 There was instability in the beginning of Ptolemy V Epiphanes’s reign (MANY SHALL RISE AGAINST THE KING OF THE SOUTH). A large number of Jews were tired of the heavy taxation, and thus preferred to be ruled by the Seleucids. Many Jews revolted (THE VIOLENT AMONG YOUR OWN... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:15 Antiochus III the Great (THE KING OF THE NORTH) fought against General Scopas and THE FORCES OF THE SOUTH at the battle of Panium, A WELL-FORTIFIED CITY, in 198 B.C. The Egyptian forces were soundly defeated and they fled to Sidon, where General Scopas finally surrendered... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:17 After General Scopas’s surrender, Egypt was forced into an alliance with the Syrians. Antiochus III the Great even gave his DAUGHTER, Cleopatra (not the famous one from a later period), to Ptolemy V in marriage. Antiochus III hoped that her offspring would rule over Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:20 Seleucus IV Philopater (reigned 187–175 B.C.) succeeded his father, Antiochus III the Great. Seleucus IV sent a “tax collector,” Heliodorus, to collect the money to pay Rome their yearly tribute of 1,000 talents. He even tried to steal from the temple in Jerusalem, but de... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:21 IN HIS PLACE SHALL ARISE A CONTEMPTIBLE PERSON. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164 B.C.) is the “little horn” of ch. Daniel 8:1. He took the name Antiochus “Epiphanes,” but others called him “Epimanes” (“madman”). Seleucus IV Philopater’s son, Demetrius I Soter, was... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:24 WITHOUT WARNING, Antiochus IV Epiphanes retaliated and stole from some of THE RICHEST PARTS OF Egypt’s territory. He appeared to divide the goods among his soldiers, but his grand plans against Egypt’s STRONGHOLDS lasted ONLY FOR A TIME. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getEl... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:25 These verses appear to refer to the events of Antiochus IV Epiphanes’s first battle with Egypt and explain in more detail why Ptolemy VI Philometer was defeated. Ptolemy VI’s own trusted counselors (THOSE WHO EAT HIS FOOD) encouraged him to go against Antiochus IV (his un... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:28 Antiochus IV Epiphanes returned TO HIS LAND after raiding Egypt in 169 B.C. On his way home he stopped in Palestine and found a rebellion going on. He dealt viciously with the Jews (HIS HEART SHALL BE SET AGAINST THE HOLY COVENANT), killing eighty thousand men, women, and... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:29 In 168 B.C. (that is, the TIME APPOINTED by God) Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt again. This time he met with a humiliating defeat. The Romans had joined forces with the Ptolemies, and Antiochus IV was no match for the Roman army. In 167 B.C. he turned his anger towa... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:31 Later in 167 B.C., Syrian forces came back to stop the Jewish religious practices. They entered the temple. They stopped the REGULAR BURNT OFFERING, and on the fifteenth day of Chislev (December), 167 B.C., they set up an altar or idol devoted to Zeus (Jupiter) in the tem... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:33 THE WISE AMONG THE PEOPLE SHALL MAKE MANY UNDERSTAND. This likely refers to those who truly fear God and who will encourage others to fight and even die rather than offer unclean sacrifices to God. In this time of persecution, the nation will RECEIVE A LITTLE HELP, which... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:36 Toward the end of the prophecy, the focus of the vision seems to shift. It now addresses a situation that is greater than the persecution under Antiochus IV. The remainder of the chapter is often thought to deal with the “Antichrist,” which many believe is the figure desc... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:37 Antiochus IV viewed himself as a god, as his nickname “Epiphanes” (“[god] manifest”) made clear. But it is doubtful that he fulfilled the prophecy that HE SHALL MAGNIFY HIMSELF ABOVE ALL. He abandoned THE GODS OF HIS FATHERS, including Apollo, and showed no regard for the... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:39 The passage probably speaks of a future king, one who will truly “do as he wills,” will DEAL WITH THE STRONGEST FORTRESSES, and will MAKE his followers RULERS OVER MANY. Many interpreters see here another prediction of the Antichrist, whom they connect to the “little horn... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:40 AT THE TIME OF THE END there will be a major battle where armies will come from the NORTH and the SOUTH to ATTACK this powerful ruler in the land of Israel (THE GLORIOUS LAND). EDOM AND MOAB AND THE MAIN PART OF THE AMMONITES will escape from him, possibly because of thei... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL—NOTE ON DANIEL 11:44 One striking difference between Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Antichrist lies in the events surrounding the king’s death. Antiochus IV died during a relatively minor campaign against Persia in 164 B.C., not BETWEEN THE SEA and Jerusalem after a grand and successful assau... [ Continue Reading ]