4. Antiochus The Great 11:11-19
11:11a “the king of the South, shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude;”
This is the famed battle of Raphia , 217 BC, near the border of Palestine, the southern-most city in Syria. Ptolemy has raised a vast army, 70,000 foot soldiers and 5000 on horseback. But Antiochus brings a multitude too. With him are 62,000 and 6000, respectively. But “the Great One” is crushed by angry Philopater. As God had predicted,
11:11b “the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.”
It is claimed by some historians that Ptolemy was in a position to destroy or capture all of Syria , as his father had been. The momentum is in his camp. But this time,
11:12 “when he has taken away the multitude , his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.”
After his initial victory over the “Great One”, something enters Philopater in his rage that turns into pride. He suddenly stops pursuing Syrians, and vents his new-found strength on Israel. At one point in this campaign , he actually tries to force his way into the Holy of Holies. One record shows that before he can do this he is stricken and carried off nearly dead.
Meanwhile Antiochus the Great is out hiding in the desert until the wrath subsides! He narrowly escapes death, then returns home, bitter, wanting revenge, and eventually preparing another expedition against Egypt. Years pass
11:13a “at the end of some years”
Magnus recovers. Victories start piling up, so many that he is being compared now to
Alexander . “The Great” is added to his name by energetic followers.
Then for seemingly no reason in 203 the beast hated by Jew ,Syrian and Egyptian alike dies in Egypt, along with his wife Arsinoe, who wants to become regent. Philopater’s death is kept secret from powers that be. The queen’s death is a known murder. Unfortunately for Egypt, his heir, Ptolemy V “Epiphanes” is but 5 years old, and is at the mercy of those who have taken his parents.
Realizing a definite advantage with but a boy on the Throne of Egypt, Antiochus and ally Philip of Macedon come together and plot the division of Ptolemy’s non-Egypt Empire portions. As stated,
11:13b “the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.”
Thus is described in advance the Fifth Syrian War. Antiochus leads several invasions of Egypt, not at all worried about bullying a mere child. Nor does it seem to bother his allies, such as Philip .
11:14a “And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South”
Philip of Macedon, and those who follow him, Antiochus and his armies, for example. And, Ptolemy’s own general, Scopas, assigned to Palestine and stationed in Jerusalem, tends to show favor to the Jews during this period. Even so, when the Jews see that the “North” is winning, they yield to Antiochus, join with him and help him besiege Ptolemy’s garrisons. Hence the prophet’s words, 11:14b “Also certain violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall”
Some of these men who cross over to support the Seleucids die in the process. Their particular efforts end in defeat, as Daniel saw.
In the year 200, the Egyptian army of Scopas, evidently aided by certain Jews, fights against the Syrian army at Panion at the upper stream of the Jordan. Egypt suffers the loss and must retreat to what was considered by some the strongest fortress in the world, at Sidon.
11:15 a “So the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city.”
The Syrians set up a siege at Sidon and in 199 the famed fortress falls . Scopas must surrender.
11:15b “The forces of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist.”
So as the Fifth War winds down, Egypt has lost Syria and Palestine, even though some of its brightest stars, Generals Eropas, Manacles, and Demonius , try to rescue Scopas. They fail, as God saw that they would fail.
11:16a “He who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him.”
The “great” men of this world are of this sort. No one tells them what to do. We have seen this of Alexander in 11:3. We will see it of one who is to come, according to verse 36. And we see it in Antiochus here. The “he” is of course Magnus. The first “him” is Ptolemy.
11:16b “He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.”
Here the land of the promise is seen in its final glory, chosen of God and beautiful. This is a magnificent statement of faith , as the land we are viewing seems far from glorious now. Even in century 21, the glory seems to have departed. But when all is said and done, the land of Abraham, and Jacob, and Jesus , and the Holy City, is God’s Glorious Land.
The stance of Antiochus as complete ruler over the territory now seems threatening. He captures Jerusalem and expels the Egyptian garrison. There were some who had rebelled against him during the see-saw events of the past years. Some of these are being punished now. It is mentioned by others that he may have used the spoils of Palestine to feed his army. It was not a pleasant thing for Israel to have such fierce competitors to the north and to the south. Even neutrality becomes a problem. But Palestine is not Antiochus’s heart now. He is devising a plan that will make him master of all, once and for all.
Meanwhile, Philip, in the Dardanelles without Antiochus, fights against Rhodes and Pergamum, both of whom appeal to Rome for help against Macedonia, and inform Rome of the Asian alliance. Philip is defeated, and friend Antiochus refuses to help him. In fact he allows Philip to engage Rome, and while Rome’s head is turned Antiochus is free to march on Egypt! He gains permanent possession of “Southern Syria” from 195 on.
11:17a “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom and
[bring equitable terms (rsv) ] with him; thus shall he do”
Here then is an example of a man who acts upon every desire of his own heart, as introduced in verse 16. He desires to have it all, to bring his kingdom into Egypt, to press for terms from young Ptolemy.
He has defeated Scopas. He now wants all of Scopas’ land. It is also possible that he sees the Romans advancing east from Italy, and wants a quick settlement with Egypt to bring him the security he needs against the coming invasion. So, the plan…
11:17b “And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it”
Antiochus has a beautiful daughter named Cleopatra . She is the royal princess of the land, the “first daughter” as it were. In a normal kingdom she would have been in line for true rule over her own land some day, or at least marriage to local nobility. But not in the Seleucid way of thinking. She is a tool, a means to an end . As so many before her she is to be sent away as property. Her dowry is to be, Syria and Palestine. Antiochus is to receive half the revenue of these lands, and Cleopatra is to influence her husband to remain neutral in the coming conflict, or even to declare against the Romans, who at present protect Egypt. Syria and Palestine thus become a bribe to bind Cleopatra to Daddy’s will. Egypt is to be a Seleucid protectorate.
But the plan backfires to some degree.
11:17c “She shall not stand with him, or be for him”
When the Romans win a victory over her father at Thermopylae, she joins her husband in congratulating the Roman Senate!
11:18a “After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many”
It is thought by many that this is a reference to the attack of Antiochus of several Greek islands, such as Rhodes, Samos, Delos, etc., a threat to Rome’s authority. He is forced to let Egypt go for awhile, and needs fresh territory to conquer. When Rome suggests that he back off and even start paying tribute to Rome, he answers, “Asia has no interest in Rome, nor will she obey the command of Rome.”
In this fascinating period of history the legendary Hannibal lives. His growing hatred of Rome and his military genius combine to make him the threat of the day for the burgeoning empire. But he needs allies. An ancient historian writes “Aside from Philip [of Macedon] whom from afar Hannibal had made an enemy of the Romans, he fired up Antiochus, the most powerful of all kings in those times, with such a desire for war, that from far away on the Red Sea he made preparations to invade Italy.”
When Hannibal himself is actually defeated by the Romans at Zama, he goes to Antiochus for protection but also becomes his adviser. Rome then declares war on Antiochus! Now Antiochus embarks on a march, trying to look like Alexander. He wants to take Europe, and begins with Greece. And ends with next to nothing. Hannibal is with him as the islands mentioned above are taken.
11:18b “But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him.”
The next “Syrian War” is between Rome and “Magnus”.
Now everyone is joining the Roman club. Former ally Philip has joined, as well as Rho- des, Pergamum, the entire Achaean League. But not the Aetolians, the other Grecian league, in- habiting the center of Greece. They cry out to Antiochus to be a savior from this beast. Antiochus takes the challenge and advances on Roman neighborhoods. Rome advances on him. He is stopped at Thermopylae, and forced to flee to Ephesus.
It is thought that the “ruler” of our text is Roman consul Scipio, who defeats Antiochus at the ensuing Battle of Magnesia, 190 BC. Hannibal advises him to invade Italy here and now, but Antiochus is not interested in advice, even from his advisor. Scipio defeats him with a mere 30,000 soldiers to the 70,000 of Antiochus.
As the condition of peace, he is required to evacuate all territories west of the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor, pay 15,000 talents (perhaps $450 million in 2002) over the next 12 years, and surrender his navy. The Seleucid Empire becomes an inland, Asian entity, and dreams of Alexander’s Empire continue to vanish.
Discouraged and very definitely defeated,
11:19a “Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land”
How shall he raise the money? While in the province of Elymais (today, southwest Iran), he hears there is a great treasure in the temple of Jupiter. He breaks into it in the dead of night, carries off all its riches…
11:19b “But he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.”
The local leaders hear of his theft, rebel against him, and murder him along with all his attendants, in the year 187.
Oh yes, one more thing the peace treaty demanded. Hostages are to be turned over to Rome for the duration of the indebtedness. Including Antiochus’s youngest son . Or at least that was the original plan…
5: Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt 11:20-35
11:20a “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom”
Antiochus has left a huge debt behind. Rome has not cancelled it simply because of the death of Syria’s head! The eldest son of Antiochus the Great , Seleucus IV Philopater (notice again how the two kingdoms interchange names!), becomes a great distorter and oppressor of the people to gain money for that debt, and to satisfy his own reputed desire for that substance.
He fulfills this prophecy further by attempting to rob the Temple at Jerusalem as his father had robbed Jupiter’s holy place. He uses his prime minister Heliodorus for this task. II Maccabees says that angelic beings encountered Heliodorus. Great works of art and a strong tradition have followed this incident through the years. Something happened in that temple.
11:20b “Within a few days he shall be destroyed but not in anger or in battle.”
Daniel is not talking about a few days of reigning. He must reign long enough to have a need to go to Judea’s Temple. He must rob that temple. And a few days after that , upon the re- turn of Heliodorus, Seleucus is poisoned by his chancellor. He has lived just long enough to pay what he owes to Rome, and fulfill God’s Word.
11:21a “in his place shall arise a vile person”
Vile, as in despicable or contemptible. He is despised by heaven as a man after Satan’s own heart who hates Israel, dishonors the Temple and the worship of the one true God. He is despised by men who change his title from Epiphanes, the Illustrious One, to Epimanes, the madman.
Even heathen writers describe him as “odd- humored”, rude and boisterous, base and sordid. He is known to leave the king’s court and in disguise mingle with the basest of characters in the city. His unaccountable whims cause some to think of him as just “silly” , others absolutely insane.
Before his rise to the Throne, you will recall, he has been sent to Rome as security for his father’s debts, a hostage, along with many other leading persons of the Kingdom. Rome later insists that Antiochus’ son Demetrius, who has a real claim to the Throne, be exchanged for Antiochus, and Epiphanes is released! Soon after this happening, Seleucus is poisoned by Heliodorus who temporarily mounts the Seleucid Throne.
Meanwhile Antiochus, lately arrived in Athens, manages to keep Demetrius safe in Rome while his friend and ally the King of Pergamus, helps drive out Heliodorus and seat Antiochus .
11:21b “to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably”
in fact pretending to reign for nephew Demetrius until Nephew can be freed. For obviously, the son of the king should be the next in line, not the brother. So, one can come in with a sword at times like these, but peaceable means are more to his liking. He will flatter the adherents of Heliodorus
11:21c “and seize the kingdom by intrigue.”
He will become established, offer his services, spread flatteries here and there. In Judah, for example, though he enters with a strong force, he speaks to them craftily in peaceful terms, and they trust him. Then he suddenly falls on the city and strikes it a great blow. This tactic will be used again and again. (I Maccabees 1:30 ff)
11:22a “With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken”
“They” here is the same as “they” in the previous verse, the ones who do not desire Epiphanes to be king, nor offer him the kingdom. One by one , through his treacheries and lies, they are swept out of his way as though he were a one-wave flood. Some die, some just step aside.
11:22b “and also the prince of the covenant”
Antiochus has “covenanted”, made an agreement, with the prince who should be reigning that he will guard his position for him until he is able to take it himself. But of course he has no plan to allow Demetrius to reign. It would seem that the flow of the text here is merely talking of Antiochus’ rise to power within Syria, until verse 25, though some can see his dealings with Israel and Egypt in these early verses also. Thus they would see Onias the high priest of Israel as the “prince of the covenant” whom Antiochus murders, breaking his alliance with him. This happens in 170 as Antiochus strikes Egypt with a mighty army. In support of this interpretation, the term “covenant” is only used in this Jewish sense in the rest of the book.
11:23a “And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully”
That is, attempt to have Demetrius killed instead of having him enthroned, or, the deposing of Onias in his first year, and the raising up of Onias’s brother Jason as High Priest. Jason of course is more willing to be a Hellenist, and even pays for this privilege.
11:23b “for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people,”
Here is documented in advance Antiochus’ first “invasion” of Egypt, some believe. In
170, he sends a small army into Egypt, under Apollonius for the coronation of the new Ptolemy, Philometer. He enters peaceably, as a friend, distributing favors as he goes. It is hard to argue with one giving gifts. He soon makes a league with Philometer, son of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra. He thinks Ptolemy will need this friendship as the Egyptian rule will be challenged by Philometer’s own brother.
11:24a “He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province”
He continues to rise, through his false peace, mentioned in verse 21. From the outside it merely seems he is a humanitarian , sorely interested in preserving the great Seleucid family and kingdom. That image is added to as
11:24b “he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers”
So far, he is a typical monarch, allowing himself to rise and be accepted by the masses. But he will take it a step further:
11:24c “He shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil , and riches”
This penchant he has toward bribery is illustrated well in his dealings with Judas Maccabeus, whom we will soon encounter. The writer of I Maccabees says that he entices his army to fight by giving them a year’s pay in advance. But this so exhausted his treasury that he “feared that he would not have enough, as he formerly had, for...the presents which he had been used to give before with a lavish hand, beyond the kings that went before him.” He did what his fathers had not done...
11:24d “and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.”
As Matthew Henry points out, he who comes in like a fox rules like a lion. Antiochus’ method is to rule by his wits and not so much by his army. He is crafty. He strategizes as he goes. He is open and verbal about what he is going to do. But often he does the opposite. He is a deceiver, yet an eloquent one. A type of the man of sin who will be utterly lawless. Promise them anything, but offer nothing except what profits Epiphanes.
11:25a “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army.” Here then is the next direct mention of the continuing of the Syrian wars which we have been tracing with every ruler, whether North or South. This will be the second visit to Egypt, in the year 169.
Please recall that the last Egyptian ruler we looked at was Ptolemy V, also known as “Epiphanes”. He rules from 203-180, and thus is not a part of the northern Epiphanes’ schemes. At his father’s death, his mother wants to become his regent. She is murdered. Later, recall, he is given Cleopatra from the Seleucid kingdom (Antiochus the Great’s daughter) to be his wife. At age 28, in 180 BC, he dies, some say of being poisoned.
Ptolemy VI, Philometer comes then to the throne, also a boy king under the control of guardians. His wife-sister is Cleopatra II, and his younger brother, with whom he will fight for and then share the Throne, is Ptolemy VII, Euergetes II Physcon.
It is easy to see why Antiochus feels that young Philometer will be an easy prey. It is not quite as easy to see why he would want his own nephew to be that prey. Yes, Philometer’s mother and Antiochus’ own sister are one and the same: Cleopatra. Philometer is his nephew. And Euergetes (Ptolemy VII) is too. Not to mention the doomed Demetrius in Rome! He will attempt several attacks on his kin, totally breaking treaties of the past. More treaties will be made. They too will be broken.
I Maccabees documents this campaign thus: (1:16ff) “When his rule appeared to Antiochus to be established, he conceived the idea of becoming king of the land of Egypt, so that he might reign over the two kingdoms. So he entered Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and a great fleet...and he plundered the land of Egypt.”
11:25b “And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him”
From 170 to 168 is the Sixth Syrian War. Egypt’s forces are initially crushed. Then competition for the throne breaks out in Egypt between the two sons of Cleopatra I. Antiochus takes advantage of this development to extend his power. He supports Euergetes’ ambitions to become king with the proviso that Egypt must now be subject to Antiochus.
11:26 “Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.”
Antiochus bribes Philometer’s very counsellors and confidants to betray him. Though Ptolemy’s forces far outnumber the Seleucid Epiphanes, the North scores the ultimate victory here. So it is time to come to the peace table. Time to have a permanent solution. Time to lie through our teeth again!
11:27a “Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table”
There is long standing hatred here. Like the players in the Balkan conflict. Like the Arab-Jew conflicts of our day. When they talk peace, they are only buying time to devise yet another plan against the other. The peace treaty looks good,
11:27b “but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time .”
A curious yet pointed reminder here. It takes us back to 8:19 and reminds us of the coming day of “indignation” that is appointed to mankind. The appointed time is mentioned yet again 8 verses down. The time of the end. The appointed time.
Here seems to be a clue, as the narrative is abruptly interrupted to let us know that this entire series of events is not to be concluded here, but is definitely to be concluded. Make all the treaties you want, Antiochus, lie all you will, this thing will close when God says it is closing time. Maybe next year. Maybe not for a long time. Your part in the processes of history in the making are all under the determined hand of God.
Antiochus heads home, prosperous, heady. But either before he begins or en route, he gets wind of a rumor circulating around Judea that he has been killed! Thinking he has dead, some of the persons he has installed are being uninstalled.
11:28 “While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.”
Maccabees has it like this: (1:20ff) “After subduing Egypt, in the one hundred and forty- third year, Antiochus turned back and came up against Israel and entered Jerusalem with a strong force. And in his arrogance he went into the sanctuary and took the gold altar and the lampstand for the light, and all its furniture and the table for the Presentation Bread...and he took the secret treasures...and went back to his own country. He massacred people and spoke with great arrogance.”
He “returns to his own land” with over a million dollars’ worth of Temple treasure. But this is not the “appointed” moment for Antiochus or the Temple yet. It gets worse.
