The Contemptible Person

Daniel 11: 21-35

Gabriel is still telling Daniel what will take place in his future. These verses are about the career of the tyrannical oppressor who did his utmost to destroy the Jewish religion altogether. He previously appeared in 8: 9-12 as the sinister "little Horn" who will suspend the worship of God in the Jerusalem temple. Now he is introduced as a despicable tyrant ("contemptible person") who will shed much blood and enjoy power for a time.

(21) "In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 

This tyrant, who has not received "the honor of kingship" has come by intrigue. This is the second son of Antiochus the Great, the uncle of the rightful heir of the throne, Demetrius I, the young son of Seleucus IV, who was still being held hostage in Rome. So Antiochus IV weaseled his way into being appointed the prince regent. But his ambitions led him to secure approval to convert his regency into royalty and claim the throne for himself soon after 175 by promises of promotion and large favors. In other words, he bribed his way to the throne. (Since Demetrius was still in Rome, he was safe from assassination by his uncle's agents. And later on he was able to make good his claim on the throne, for he left Rome to lead an army against the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus V Eupator, in 162.)

His title of "Epiphanes" ("the Illustrius One") also means "very evident" or "manifest." He had coins minted calling himself Epiphanes Theos, or "God Manifest." 

Bearing in mind his role as a type of the antichrist, or "beast" of the Last Days (who appears in Chapter 7 as the "little horn" arising from the fourth kingdom), it becomes particularly meaningful to read of that future antitype in II Thessalonians 2: 3-4: "the man of lawlessness ... [who] opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God and worshiped, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Not only did Antiochus enthrone himself for adoration by the Jews as he sat in the court of the desecrated Jerusalem temple in 168 B.C. but he also claimed divine honors for himself on every major coin that he minted.

(22) "The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant. 

This describes Antiochus Epiphanes' taking up the struggle with Ptolmaic Egypt. Ptolemy VII (Philometor) ascended the throne in 181 at the age of six, and his mother Cleopatra governed as queen regent until her death. After he assumed power, he determined to recapture the regions of Palestine and Phoenicia that had been lost to Antiochus III. His invasion met with early success, until he encountered a serious reverse and became a prisoner of Antiochus Epiphanes.

(23) "After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 

The Egyptians gave up hope of regaining their king, and appointed his brother Physcon as king in his place. Then Epiphanes craftily intervened on behalf of his royal prisoner, and mounted an expeditionary force against Physcon to reestablish Philometor on the throne, now as Antiochus' ally rather than his adversary.

(24) "In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. 

He then made a treaty of friendship and alliance with Philometor aimed at obtaining a foothold in Egypt itself and ultimately uniting the two kingdoms under his own authority. His seriousness was attested by his coinage that bore the same types as the corresponding Ptolemaic coinage, but with "King Antiochus, God Manifest" instead of "Ptolemy the King." 

The "richest parts of the realm" refers to more than Egypt itself, but also to the eastern provinces all the way to Bactria, where successful campaigns were conducted by Eucratides, Antiochus' general. In 166 Antiochus conducted a full-scale muster of his armies at Daphnae, just outside Antioch, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of his rule.

(25) "He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 

The large Egyptian army did not succeed because of the schemes ... devised against him by Antiochus and his agents in Egypt.

(26) "Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain.
(27) "As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. 

This probably refers to the banquet table as Antiochus and Philometer celebrated their victory and negotiated the peace treaty. Both kings were lying to each other, the end most likely being the permanent suspension of Antiochus' plan to annex Egypt to his domains.

(28) "Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

The action against the holy covenant spoken of here summarizes a whole lengthy time of political maneuvering of the office of the high priest, with Jason bribing the king to depose Onias III to install him, instead. Then Menelaus offered an even bigger bribe, so he got to be high priest, and started to sell off some of the sacred treasures to pay the bribe. Then Menelaus had Onias killed for protesting, and the people rose up to request the king to deal with Menelaus. But a courtier Menelaus had bribed persuaded Antiochus to act against the people instead, so he had the Jerusalem leaders put to death in Tyre, where the whole matter was being adjudicated (see II Maccabees 4: 30-50).

(29) "At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. 
(30) "For ships of Kittim will come against him; 

The last time Antiochus came against Egypt, the embattled Ptolemies requested Rome's assistance, and the Roman commander Popilius Laenas met Antiochus marshalling his hosts for a siege of Alexandria, and informed him that the Roman government ordered him to quit Egypt immediately or face the consequences of war with Rome. Remembering what had happened to his father at the Battle of Magnesia and also recalling his years as a young hostage in Roman captivity, it did not take Antiochus very long to give way before this mandate--especially after Popilius drew a circle around him with his staff and ordered him to make his decision before he stepped outside of it.

therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 

Humiliated and angry, he took out his wrath against the Jews at Jerusalem; Menelaus and his followers were the ones who forsake the holy covenant.

(31) "Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. 

This describes the momentous events of December 168. All the sacred vessels  were removed from the temple, and the daily sacrifices were abolished. Whether they actually installed a statue of Jupiter or Zeus Olympias or not, 2 Maccabees 6: 2 states that the temple was renamed the Temple of Zeus Olympias; an adolatrous altar was formally consecrated there on 16 December (25 Chislev) 168 B.C. Thus the same type of desecration overtook the second temple as befell the first temple in the evil days of Ahaz (735-715) and Manasseh (695-642) when they too had set up an idolatrous altar (by Ahaz, II Kings 16: 10-16) and images of heathen gods (by Manasseh, II Kings 21: 3-5). 

Note that Jesus's only explicit reference to "the prophet Daniel" as the writer of the Book of Daniel is in the Olivet Discourse (in Matthew 24: 15; Mark 13: 14). There He refers to "the abomination that causes desolation" (to bdelygma tes eremoseos) which is the exact wording of the LXX (the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament) for this verse. This phrase also recurs in 12: 11 of this book in an end-time context. 

(32) "By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, 

Antiochus was a master in manipulating Jewish leaders who were divided in their loyalties.


but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. 
(33) "Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 

A band of heroic patriots was stirred to action by a certain priest named Mattathias in the town of Modein. He was the father of the valiant Maccabees: Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, each of whom later became nasi yisrael ("prince of Israel") during the victorious war of independence against the Seleucid government. These patriots, sparked by the zeal of the Hasidim movement fulfilled the prediction, "they will firmly resist him (Epiphanes)." 

During Antiochus' persecution, these leaders would preach to their fearful and intimidated countrymen a stirring message to trust in the promises and power of the Lord instead of bowing to the demands of the pagan tyrant who would turn them from the Living God. These "wise men" would teach and evangelize, to first get back to God and His ways, then to answer the call to arms and hazard their very lives for the liberation of their land from the yoke of their God-hating persecutor. Many would lose their lives and property.

Their uncompromising commitment to faithful adherence to the Mosaic covenant and Law resulted in the spiritual revival of the nation until the first coming of the Lord Jesus Messiah. 

(34) "Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. 

The little help refers to the small numbers of compatriots who joined them after the early successes of the original guerilla band. Then when the Hassidim began to round up those who had collaborated with the Seleucids and put them to death (I Maccabees 2: 42), and even those who had deserted Scriptural standards ("the lawless"), then goodly numbers of insincere followers attached themselves to the patriot cause (in hypocrisy), hoping to save their own skins.

(35) "Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time." 

The account of the Maccabean uprising concludes with a strong emphasis on the spiritual meaning of this heroic struggle for the survival of the nation of Israel. The cause of freedom was maintained through vicissitudes of defeat and success, until finally a strong Jewish kingdom was founded by John Hyrcanus, son of Simon Maccabaeus (135-105), and enlarged to its fullest extent by his warlike son Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 B.C.). 

This verse ends the predictive material that applies to the Hellenistic empires and the contest between the Seleucids and the Jewish patriots. 

The next section appears to apply to the antichrist of the End Time that is still future, even for us. 

O my Father, You are so good! Thank you for revealing to us Your plans for the nations and Your people, all the way to the end of time itself. Help us to read and study with understanding and insight and discernment; to be prepared to face all the trials and tribulations that are still to come, and to respond appropriately. 

Let us not be surprised or caught off-guard when what You have said would happen actually comes to pass. Father, show us when we are in the midst of whatever is surrounding us, to be able to recognize that it is what You have told us is coming. Enable us to help one another through all the times you will bring us through. Teach us to lean on You when we are weak. Show us how to depend on You when we come short. Strengthen our faith and trust in You as our Source and our Defender. 

Grow us up as Your children, Father, and increase Your Kingdom using our hands and feet and words. We are Christ's body, to do His work in the world, to grow the Kingdom of God, intrinsically and extrinsically. 

Send us out to every living person in every nation, to share with everyone how much You love us all, and want everybody to have a clear, informed choice to either accept or reject the gracious, generous gift You offer freely. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!