Glen Park - World to Come

Glen Park Gospel Church >> Bible Studies >> The World to Come - Daniel 11

(The following text is in addition to the 3rd study in the series: The World to Come.)

The Historical Fulfilment of
Daniel Chapter Eleven, Verses One to Thirty Five

For this account reconciliation of ancient history to Daniel 11.1-35 several sources have been used. It is obvious that there is a small variation in the sequence of events in that one author places one event before another, and whilst Daniel's prophecy is chronological and detailed, one comment may refer to an event to come or an event past in the sequence. Every effort has been made to be faithful to historical record and biblical text.

What stands out is the amazing accuracy with which Daniel foretold history. He began in his own time and told the political events for the next five hundred years. The most detailed statements were at the end of that half millennium. We would expect this if the revelation truly comes from the living God.

This file only deals with history, as found in verses one through thirty five. In verses thirty six through to the end of the book he continues that prophecy, and his comment reaches beyond our day. We urge you to obtain a copy of the Bible and read it for yourself.

v1 The first year of Darius the Mede. Babylon fell to Darius in 538BC. That which follows is thus prophetic and very detailed.

v2
These four kings were:

Cambyses, Ahasuerus, 521-522BC
Smerdis, Artaxerxes, 522-521BC
Darius, Hystaspes, 521-485BC
Xerxes, 485-465BC This ruler won the battle of Thermopylae against the Greek army 480, but was defeated by them in 479BC, and again in 480 he lost the battle of Salamis and in 478 the battle of Mycale.

v3 Alexander the Great of Greece becamedominant in international politics from about 335. He is the ‘significant horn' on the goat mentioned in Daniel 8:5-8.

v4
Alexander died suddenly in 323, and as also foretold in Daniel 8:8, control of his kingdom was divided between his four generals:

Cassander controlled Greece and nearby areas
Lysimachus controlled Thrace, Asia Minor and the area around the Hellespont and the Bosphorus
Seleucus had Syria and Babylon
Ptolemy ruled Egypt and surrounding nations.

The others besides these include the Romans who began to assert influence over this period.

v5
Ptolemy Lagi of Egypt was the ‘King of the South'. 323-283BC.

Seleucus Nicator 312-280BC of Syria annexed Thrace and Macedon to his kingdom thus extending his kingdom geographically.

Antiochus Theos of Syria, and the rise of a strong Egypt

v6 A marriage based alliance was struck between Egypt and Syria in 250BC. Ptolemy Philadelphus (second king of Egypt) gave his daughter Berenice to Antiochus Theos (third king of Syria) who put away his current wife Laodice and disinherited her son, on the understanding that any child of Berenice would become his heir. However Ptolemy died in 247BC and Antiochus rescinded the terms of the alliance by calling back his former wife who possibly caused his death in 246BC and then had Berenice and her young son poisoned. Callinicus the son of Laodice ascended to power as Seleucus II, Callinicus 246-226BC.

v7 The ‘her' referred to here was the murdered Berenice, and the ‘one who will arise in his place' was her brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes 247-222 BC who avenged her death by invading the Syrian kingdom, slew Laodice, and captured Antioch's port. He then captured some island provinces before pushing east as far as the Tigrés before drought and famine recalled his attentions to Egypt.

v8 Ptolemy III Euergetes brought with him a rich treasure from his exploits recorded as 4,000 talents of gold and ten times that in silver, and temple treasures. He then developed a policy of political equilibrium after which he took no further major aggressive campaigns. He died leaving his kingdom at the peak of its power and influence. (As an indication of the progressive thinking during his tenure of office, Egyptian priests revised the calendar, introducing a 365¼ calendar days by the inclusion of the leap year. But the system did not survive.)

v9 The detail for this verse is not clear. However it indicates that diplomacy was successful and a balance of power was maintained for no war resulted, and the prophesy fits well with recorded history.

Antiochus the Great of Syria

v10 The sons of Seleucus II of Syria were more radical than their father, Cerannos Seleucus III 222-205BC. He was ineffective as a war lord and was assassinated while on a campaign in Phrygia. His brother then took the throne and was a brutal leader, Antiochus the Great. 222-186BC

v11 In the battle of Raphia 217BC, Antiochus the Great was defeated by Ptolemy IV Philopater, son of Ptolemy Euergetes.

v12 Ptolemy IV Philopater is recorded as a feeble ruler who did not pursue his victory against Antiochus the Great, consequently Ptolemaic Syrian territories were lost and native uprisings began to trouble Egypt. He was a drunkard and dissatisfaction and defections within his army weakened the leadership.

v13 Ptolemy IV Philopater died in 203BC and was succeeded by his four year old son. Antiochus the Great entered into an alliance with Philip III of Macedon to partition the empire outside Egypt between them. In the war that followed Antiochus the Great gained total control of Palestine 200BC.

v14 Egypt was under pressure at this time. With Philip of Macedon and Antiochus active the Romans intervened and attacked Philip. Antiochus refused to come to his aid. Egypt appealed for Roman help, with little result. Ptolemy's general, Scopas, retook Palestine.

v15 In 198BC Antiochus reacted and defeated the Egyptian army at Panion on the upper Jordan. Scopas the general fled to Sidon which was one of Egypt's most strongly fortified towns. Antiochus followed and laid siege, forcing the city to surrender.

v16 The ‘glorious land' reflects the exiled Daniel's view of Palestine. Antiochus the Great did not destroy it, but imposed heavy taxes and the armies of Ptolemy were powerless to prevent him from doing so.

v17 Antiochus gathered all the forces at his disposal with the intent to march on Egypt. However the Egyptians had by then obtained the assistance of Rome. He changed strategy. He gave his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes to marriage, and offered the territories of Coele Syria and Judea as a dowry, thereby temporarily defusing the situation with Rome. His intention was that his daughter would act in his interest from her position of privilege in Egypt, thereby assisting his territorial ambitions. Cleopatra however sided with he husband against her father.

v18 Antiochus the Great, having been thwarted in his ambitions with Egypt turned his aggressive attentions to the kingdom of Philip of Macedon, capturing territory in the Mediterranean, then crossing into Europe seized Thrace. The Roman Scipio resisted him, demanding that he leave the kingdom of Philip of Macedon. He refused, so Scipio forced him to do so.

v19 The Romans confiscated all his territory west of Tarsus demanded of a heavy tax of him. He returned to Syria. In an effort to raise the money he attacked the temple of Jupiter at Elymais. The inhabitants of Elymais revolted and he and his soldiers were slain.

v20 Antiochus the Great was succeeded by his son, Seleucus IV Philopater, 187-176BC. He was saddled with his father's tax debt to Rome and sent his treasurer, Heliodorus, to collect tribute, including from the temple in Jerusalem where a Bemjamite called Simeon (who had prejudice against Onais the High Priest) had provided information of the status of the temple treasury. There followed a good measure of peace in Palestine. Tradition has it that Heliodorus sought to wrest the power of the kingdom and poisoned Seleucus while his son Demetrius, who was his rightful heir but he did not become king, was absent in Rome.

Antiochus Epiphanes

v21 The despicable or vile person referred to was Antiochus Epiphanes. He, the brother of Seleucus was the second son of Antiochus the Great and therefore not the rightful heir, and obtained power by flattery and guile. He was known as coarse, callous and possibly temporarily insane.

v22 With the assistance of the army Antiochus Epiphanes quickly subdued all opposition in the heartland of his kingdom. He then wrested back the territories of Coele Syria and Judea given as a dowry by his father with Cleopatra. He deposed the High Priest Onais who is assumed to be the ‘prince of the covenant' referred to in this verse.

v23 The historian Appian tells us that Antiochus Epiphanes made a treaty with Eumenus, king of Pergamus with no intention of keeping it. He also entered into a treaty with Ptolemy against whom he marched with a small army.

v24 Antiochus Epiphanes adopted a different strategy to that of his father. According to 1 Maccabees 3.30 he gathered tribute in one place and gave it as a bribe to buy favour in another. His intention was the subjection of those peoples. These strategies can only work for a time before the word gets around.

v25 Antiochus Epiphanes with his smaller army marched swiftly on Egypt with lightening strikes, despite the larger army set against him. He took Pelusium then Memphus and marched on toward Alexandria.

v26 Ptolemy also was faced with internal unrest, including a coup d'etat by his brother Physcon, who deposed him.

v27 The reference of this verse is generally understood to mean the king of Syria and the king of Egypt. The object of Antiochus Epiphanes was to possess Egypt for himself and the object of Ptolemy Philometer was to unite with Physcon against Antiochus. These discussions were not successful for Antiochus Epiphanes.

v28 While Antiochus Epiphanes was in Egypt it was rumoured that he was dead and it caused the Jewish people to rejoice. On his way back to Syria Antiochus Epiphanes attacked Jerusalem as a pay back. 2 Maccabees records that he slew 80,000, took 40,000 prisoner and sold a further 40,000 as slaves. Guided by Menelaus he entered the temple, took away gold and silver vessels, slew a pig as a sacrilegious sacrifice upon the Jewish altar then sprinkled broth made from the flesh through the temple.

v29 Antiochus Epiphanes again attacked Egypt with a fleet of ships. Ptolemy Philometer suspecting his attack had hired Greek mercenaries. He had also appealed to Rome for help. It was 168BC.

v30 Roman ships lay in the port. Popillus Loenas the Roman ambassador met him four kilometres from Alexandria and presented him with the decree of the Senate. Antiochus Epiphanes replied that he would consider what he would do. Popillus drew a circle in the sand around him with a rod and said, ‘I must have a reply to give to the Senate before you leave this circle.' Antiochus Epiphanes capitulated and withdrew not only from Egypt, but also Cyprus. On his return he took out his vengeance on the Jews, with the help of some dissidents.

v31 Antiochus Epiphanes forbade the use of the temple for Jewish sacrifice ritual and instituted instead the Greek religion and culture. He dedicated the temple to the worship of the god Jupiter Olympius. He then identified himself with that God and demanded the nations to worship him as God. It was a move designed to obliterate Jewish worship. This is action called the abomination which makes desolate. An idol was commonly called an abomination, the word meaning ‘a foul thing'.

v32 The period of the Macabees began in 165BC and these people sought to restore the knowledge and worship of God. The movement lasted about one hundred years and the story is told in 1 Maccabees.

v33 A group of teachers formed called the ‘Maskilim' meaning the ‘the enlightened ones.' and their aim was to throw light on Messianic promises. The Syrian army attacked the Jews on the Sabbath when they would not fight and many of them fell.

v34 Support grew for the Maccabees when Judas had some success, but not all who joined in did so from a pure motive.

v35 The Maccabees had both successes and failures in their objectives. Their failure had a purifying effect on the group. But in time the affliction came to an end, as they always do.

It is notable that at the time Antiochus Epiphanes capitulated to Popillus Loenas the Roman ambassador and Antiochus Epiphanes sent his army against Jerusalem, the Roman armies marched on and took Macedon, thereby ending the period of the third beast. The prophetic story moves to the fourth beast.

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v1	The first year of Darius the Mede. Babylon fell to Darius in 538BC. That which follows is thus prophetic and very detailed.
v2	These four kings were: Cambyses, Ahasuerus, 521-522BC Smerdis, Artaxerxes, 522-521BC Darius, Hystaspes, 521-485BC Xerxes, 485-465BC This ruler won the battle of Thermopylae against the Greek army 480, but was defeated by them in 479BC, and again in 480 he lost the battle of Salamis and in 478 the battle of Mycale.
v3	Alexander the Great of Greece becamedominant in international politics from about 335. He is the ‘significant horn' on the goat mentioned in Daniel 8:5-8.
v4	Alexander died suddenly in 323, and as also foretold in Daniel 8:8, control of his kingdom was divided between his four generals: Cassander controlled Greece and nearby areas Lysimachus controlled Thrace, Asia Minor and the area around the Hellespont and the Bosphorus Seleucus had Syria and Babylon Ptolemy ruled Egypt and surrounding nations. The others besides these include the Romans who began to assert influence over this period.
v5	Ptolemy Lagi of Egypt was the ‘King of the South'. 323-283BC. Seleucus Nicator 312-280BC of Syria annexed Thrace and Macedon to his kingdom thus extending his kingdom geographically.
Antiochus Theos of Syria, and the rise of a strong Egypt
v6	A marriage based alliance was struck between Egypt and Syria in 250BC. Ptolemy Philadelphus (second king of Egypt) gave his daughter Berenice to Antiochus Theos (third king of Syria) who put away his current wife Laodice and disinherited her son, on the understanding that any child of Berenice would become his heir. However Ptolemy died in 247BC and Antiochus rescinded the terms of the alliance by calling back his former wife who possibly caused his death in 246BC and then had Berenice and her young son poisoned. Callinicus the son of Laodice ascended to power as Seleucus II, Callinicus 246-226BC.
v7	The ‘her' referred to here was the murdered Berenice, and the ‘one who will arise in his place' was her brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes 247-222 BC who avenged her death by invading the Syrian kingdom, slew Laodice, and captured Antioch's port. He then captured some island provinces before pushing east as far as the Tigrés before drought and famine recalled his attentions to Egypt.
v8	Ptolemy III Euergetes brought with him a rich treasure from his exploits recorded as 4,000 talents of gold and ten times that in silver, and temple treasures. He then developed a policy of political equilibrium after which he took no further major aggressive campaigns. He died leaving his kingdom at the peak of its power and influence. (As an indication of the progressive thinking during his tenure of office, Egyptian priests revised the calendar, introducing a 365¼ calendar days by the inclusion of the leap year. But the system did not survive.)
v9	The detail for this verse is not clear. However it indicates that diplomacy was successful and a balance of power was maintained for no war resulted, and the prophesy fits well with recorded history.
Antiochus the Great of Syria
v10	The sons of Seleucus II of Syria were more radical than their father, Cerannos Seleucus III 222-205BC. He was ineffective as a war lord and was assassinated while on a campaign in Phrygia. His brother then took the throne and was a brutal leader, Antiochus the Great. 222-186BC
v11	In the battle of Raphia 217BC, Antiochus the Great was defeated by Ptolemy IV Philopater, son of Ptolemy Euergetes.
v12	Ptolemy IV Philopater is recorded as a feeble ruler who did not pursue his victory against Antiochus the Great, consequently Ptolemaic Syrian territories were lost and native uprisings began to trouble Egypt. He was a drunkard and dissatisfaction and defections within his army weakened the leadership.
v13	Ptolemy IV Philopater died in 203BC and was succeeded by his four year old son. Antiochus the Great entered into an alliance with Philip III of Macedon to partition the empire outside Egypt between them. In the war that followed Antiochus the Great gained total control of Palestine 200BC.
v14	Egypt was under pressure at this time. With Philip of Macedon and Antiochus active the Romans intervened and attacked Philip. Antiochus refused to come to his aid. Egypt appealed for Roman help, with little result. Ptolemy's general, Scopas, retook Palestine.
v15	In 198BC Antiochus reacted and defeated the Egyptian army at Panion on the upper Jordan. Scopas the general fled to Sidon which was one of Egypt's most strongly fortified towns. Antiochus followed and laid siege, forcing the city to surrender.
v16	The ‘glorious land' reflects the exiled Daniel's view of Palestine. Antiochus the Great did not destroy it, but imposed heavy taxes and the armies of Ptolemy were powerless to prevent him from doing so.
v17	Antiochus gathered all the forces at his disposal with the intent to march on Egypt. However the Egyptians had by then obtained the assistance of Rome. He changed strategy. He gave his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes to marriage, and offered the territories of Coele Syria and Judea as a dowry, thereby temporarily defusing the situation with Rome. His intention was that his daughter would act in his interest from her position of privilege in Egypt, thereby assisting his territorial ambitions. Cleopatra however sided with he husband against her father.
v18	Antiochus the Great, having been thwarted in his ambitions with Egypt turned his aggressive attentions to the kingdom of Philip of Macedon, capturing territory in the Mediterranean, then crossing into Europe seized Thrace. The Roman Scipio resisted him, demanding that he leave the kingdom of Philip of Macedon. He refused, so Scipio forced him to do so.
v19	The Romans confiscated all his territory west of Tarsus demanded of a heavy tax of him. He returned to Syria. In an effort to raise the money he attacked the temple of Jupiter at Elymais. The inhabitants of Elymais revolted and he and his soldiers were slain.
v20	Antiochus the Great was succeeded by his son, Seleucus IV Philopater, 187-176BC. He was saddled with his father's tax debt to Rome and sent his treasurer, Heliodorus, to collect tribute, including from the temple in Jerusalem where a Bemjamite called Simeon (who had prejudice against Onais the High Priest) had provided information of the status of the temple treasury. There followed a good measure of peace in Palestine. Tradition has it that Heliodorus sought to wrest the power of the kingdom and poisoned Seleucus while his son Demetrius, who was his rightful heir but he did not become king, was absent in Rome.
Antiochus Epiphanes
v21	The despicable or vile person referred to was Antiochus Epiphanes. He, the brother of Seleucus was the second son of Antiochus the Great and therefore not the rightful heir, and obtained power by flattery and guile. He was known as coarse, callous and possibly temporarily insane.
v22	With the assistance of the army Antiochus Epiphanes quickly subdued all opposition in the heartland of his kingdom. He then wrested back the territories of Coele Syria and Judea given as a dowry by his father with Cleopatra. He deposed the High Priest Onais who is assumed to be the ‘prince of the covenant' referred to in this verse.
v23	The historian Appian tells us that Antiochus Epiphanes made a treaty with Eumenus, king of Pergamus with no intention of keeping it. He also entered into a treaty with Ptolemy against whom he marched with a small army.
v24	Antiochus Epiphanes adopted a different strategy to that of his father. According to 1 Maccabees 3.30 he gathered tribute in one place and gave it as a bribe to buy favour in another. His intention was the subjection of those peoples. These strategies can only work for a time before the word gets around.
v25	Antiochus Epiphanes with his smaller army marched swiftly on Egypt with lightening strikes, despite the larger army set against him. He took Pelusium then Memphus and marched on toward Alexandria.
v26	Ptolemy also was faced with internal unrest, including a coup d'etat by his brother Physcon, who deposed him.
v27	The reference of this verse is generally understood to mean the king of Syria and the king of Egypt. The object of Antiochus Epiphanes was to possess Egypt for himself and the object of Ptolemy Philometer was to unite with Physcon against Antiochus. These discussions were not successful for Antiochus Epiphanes.
v28	While Antiochus Epiphanes was in Egypt it was rumoured that he was dead and it caused the Jewish people to rejoice. On his way back to Syria Antiochus Epiphanes attacked Jerusalem as a pay back. 2 Maccabees records that he slew 80,000, took 40,000 prisoner and sold a further 40,000 as slaves. Guided by Menelaus he entered the temple, took away gold and silver vessels, slew a pig as a sacrilegious sacrifice upon the Jewish altar then sprinkled broth made from the flesh through the temple.
v29	Antiochus Epiphanes again attacked Egypt with a fleet of ships. Ptolemy Philometer suspecting his attack had hired Greek mercenaries. He had also appealed to Rome for help. It was 168BC.
v30	Roman ships lay in the port. Popillus Loenas the Roman ambassador met him four kilometres from Alexandria and presented him with the decree of the Senate. Antiochus Epiphanes replied that he would consider what he would do. Popillus drew a circle in the sand around him with a rod and said, ‘I must have a reply to give to the Senate before you leave this circle.' Antiochus Epiphanes capitulated and withdrew not only from Egypt, but also Cyprus. On his return he took out his vengeance on the Jews, with the help of some dissidents.
v31	Antiochus Epiphanes forbade the use of the temple for Jewish sacrifice ritual and instituted instead the Greek religion and culture. He dedicated the temple to the worship of the god Jupiter Olympius. He then identified himself with that God and demanded the nations to worship him as God. It was a move designed to obliterate Jewish worship. This is action called the abomination which makes desolate. An idol was commonly called an abomination, the word meaning ‘a foul thing'.
v32	The period of the Macabees began in 165BC and these people sought to restore the knowledge and worship of God. The movement lasted about one hundred years and the story is told in 1 Maccabees.
v33	A group of teachers formed called the ‘Maskilim' meaning the ‘the enlightened ones.' and their aim was to throw light on Messianic promises. The Syrian army attacked the Jews on the Sabbath when they would not fight and many of them fell.
v34	Support grew for the Maccabees when Judas had some success, but not all who joined in did so from a pure motive.
v35	The Maccabees had both successes and failures in their objectives. Their failure had a purifying effect on the group. But in time the affliction came to an end, as they always do.