Daniel 11: 10-20
Gabriel is telling Daniel the future history of the world powers who affect Israel, and we just heard about the struggle between Seleucus II (the king of the North) and Ptolemy III of Egypt (the king in the South).
(10) "His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces;
Seleucus (Callinicus) died in 226 and his son Seleucus III (Soter) only reigned for three years; then his other son was Antiochus III, who came to the throne in 223, and he was called "the Great" because of his military successes.
and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress.
Antiochus III launched an expedition against Phoenicia and Palestine in 219-218.
(11) "The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but with that multitude be given into the hand of the former.
Antiochus is penetrating deeper into Egyptian territories, which enraged Ptolemy IV; and defeated him at Raphia.
(12) "When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.
In the peace that followed, Antiochus III was compelled to cede all Phoenicia and Palestine back to Ptolemy IV and leave him undisturbed possession of them for the time.
During the following years, Antiochus attained his most brilliant successes in subduing and subjugating the rebellious provinces in the Middle East all the way to the Caspian Sea in the North and the Indus River on the east.
(13) "For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.
Finally in 203 Antiochus saw his opportunity to strike Egypt again, because Ptolemy IV died leaving his son Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) on the throne, who was still a small boy of four.
(14) "Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.
The violent ones among your people were the pro-Seleucid Jews, who launched a counter-offensive under General Scopas of the Egyptian forces, who had punished the leaders in Jerusalem and Judah who were of the "wrong" political persuasion. But soon the war swept down from the North and Scopas met with severe loss at the Battle of Panium in 200 B.C. From there he retreated to Sidon, on the Phoenician coast.
(15) "Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.
But then Antiochus III laid siege to well-fortified Sidon, and even their best troops could not withstand him.
(16) "But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
When Scopus finally surrendered to Antiochus III, the Holy Land was permanently acquired by the Antioch government. Antiochus did not pursue a general policy of destruction, he simply exacted reprisals from the pro-Egyptian party leaders he was able to capture. On his entrance into Jerusalem in 198 B.C. he was welcomed as a deliverer and benefactor.
(17) "He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.
Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra to the boy king Ptolemy V who in 197 was no more than ten years old, expecting that she would bring Egypt into strong pro-Seleucid policies. Then should she produce a son, he would become legal heir to both crowns.
As it turned out, however, after the marriage finally took place in 195, Cleopatra became completely sympathetic to her husband and his cause, and when she gave birth to a royal heir, who became Ptolemy VI, it gave no advantage or political leverage to her father, Antiochus. When Ptolemy V died in 181, Cleopatra was appointed queen regent by the Egyptian government because they all loved and appreciated her loyalty to their cause.
(18) "Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.
Meanwhile, Antiochus the Great continued to advance to the coastlands of Pergamum and Rhodes, and in 196, after capturing several cities in Aeolis and Ionia, he crossed the Hellespont and the Agean with his powerful navy and conquered considerable territory in Thrace.
Finally Rome jumped into the fray, and they joined their Greek allies to overcome the Seleucid command post at Thermopylae. Antiochus withdrew to Asia Minor in 191, and during the winter of 190-189, the Roman troops followed him across to Asia, and finally met him in a pitched battle at Magnesia, west of Sardis. Although Antiochus had an army of seventy thousand, he was badly defeated by the Roman force of only thirty thousand, which put a stop to his scorn.
The commander was none other than Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, the brother of the Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who had brilliantly defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama back in 202. This commander exacted severe peace terms, including surrendering twenty selected hostages, one of which was his own second son, who was named after him; he was taken to Rome, where he spent the formative years of his life. This "repaid him for his scorn." This boy grew up to be the dreaded persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes.
(19) "So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.
The end of the career of Antiochus the Great is indicated here. He went back home, but, unable to pay his bills, he was reduced to robbing the temple of Bel in Elymais. But he was overcome by the incensed local inhabitants who succeeded in killing him and defending their temple.
(20) "Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle."
This verse sums up the uneventful reign of the elder son of Antiochus, Seleucus IV (Philopetor). The oppressor or tax-collector he sent was his special fund-raiser, Heliodorus, who he sent to plunder the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem. According to 2 Maccabees 3: 7-40, only a frightful vision of mighty angels assaulting and flogging him prevented him from accomplishing his mission, and he returned home empty-handed. Seleucus IV met an untimely end by poison administered by Heliodorus.
Next, we'll look at Antiochus's other son, who succeeded his brother.
O my Father, You knew all these people before they were born. You knew what they would do, and how You would use them to advance human history along the lines You wanted, so that we would recognize Your hand in it all.
Father God, You set up kings and princes, commanders and soldiers, merchants and paupers. You know each one of us, and You place us where You want to use us. And You move us around to interact with one another in ways that benefit one another, as Your children.
O Father, send us out into the world to share with everyone how much You love us. Father, You made the human race to be Your children, and gave us the choice to love You back. When we turn to You honestly and whole-heartedly, You have promised to meet with us, and to draw us into Your household. Please show Yourself to my loved ones, who have yet to humble themselves before You in repentance and faith. Draw them to Yourself, and show them who You are, so they will realize Your greatness and goodness and graciousness to have already met all their needs.
And Father, use us as Your hands and feet, to share with every living person Your wonderful Plan of Salvation. Enable us to communicate clearly how much You love each one of us. Let us find them, rescue them, even pull them from the fires of hell! Bring all of Your children to the birth into Your family, Father.
And fill Your great house with Your uncountable family members. Surround Your grand Banquet Table with all Your children, to enjoy sweet fellowship with You and with one another, forever.
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!
