Daniel 11:20-45: Antiochus IV Epiphanes

PHIL HARRIS Seeker of Truth |

Introduction

Before we look at the last half of Daniel 11, I want to remind us all of the warning Jesus gave to the whole world—especially those living in Judea:

The second half of Daniel 11 focuses on Antiochus Epiphanes whom history recorded as Antiochus IV.

As we continue to walk through Daniel 11, I will rely on the use of the online Enduring Word Commentary (EnduringWord.com) which is edited to reflect the use of the English Standard Version of the Bible. Because the prophecies of Daniel 11:1–35 are so detailed and precise, we are able to trace their fulfillments by the use of historical records, so we refer to a source that has compiled these events and shows their relationship to the verses of Daniel. 

Prologue

Verses 18 and 19 of this prophecy were fulfilled in history as Antiochus III and then Seleucus III:

  1. Then shall arise in his place: After the inglorious end of the king of the North, his successor would raise taxes but would soon meet his end.
  2. An exactor of tribute: This was fulfilled in the brief reign of Seleucus III, the eldest son of Antiochus III. He sought to tax his dominion (including the Holy Land) to increase revenues. His plan to pillage the Jerusalem temple was set aside when his ambassador had an angelic vision of warning.
  3. Within a few days he shall be broken: Seleucus III was assassinated, probably by his brother Antiochus IV—Enduring Word Commentary edited.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes:
Antiochus IV is better known as Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

  1. In his place shall arise a contemptible person: The angel told Daniel that after the brief reign of the former king of the North, the next king would be a vile person. He would not be recognized as royalty, but shall take power by flatteries.
  2. In his place: This was fulfilled in the successor of Seleucis III, named Antiochus IV. He did not come to the throne legitimately because it was strongly suspected that he murdered his older brother, the previous king. The other potential heir (the son of Seleucus III) was imprisoned in Rome.
    1. He shall come in peaceably: Apart from the murder of his older brother, Antiochus IV didn’t use terror to gain power. He used flattery, smooth promises and intrigue.
    2. “He flattered Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and Attalus his brother, and got their assistance. He flattered the Romans, and sent ambassadors to court their favour, and pay them the arrears of the tribute. He flattered the Syrians, and gained their concurrence.” (Enduring Word Commentary, quoted from Clarke)
    3. Antiochus IV took the title Epiphanes, meaning illustrious. Others derisively called him Epimanes, meaning madman.—Enduring Word Commentary edited.
  1. He shall act deceitfully: The angel told Daniel that the new king of the North (the vile person of Daniel 11:21) would attempt a deceitful covenant with the king of the South. This would fail, and there would be a great battle that would not change the balance of power.
  2. He shall stir up his power: This was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes carried on the feud between the dynasties but pretended friendship and alliance to catch them off guard. Despite massive efforts and epic battles, Antiochus Epiphanes did not stand, and his army was swept away.
    1. The defeat of Antiochus Epiphanes at his second campaign against Egypt was important, because Egypt beat Antiochus with the help of Rome. At the end of it all, Antiochus Epiphanes and his kingdom were under the dominion of Rome.
    2. In a famous battle, the Roman Navy defeated the navy of Antiochus Epiphanes. After the battle, a Roman general drew a circle around Antiochus in the dirt and demanded to know if he would surrender and pay tribute to Rome – and demanded to know before he stepped out of the circle. From that point on there was no doubt: Antiochus Epiphanes took his orders from Rome and was under Roman dominion.
    3. Those who eat his food shall break him: This was fulfilled in the treachery against Antiochus IV by his own counselors—Enduring Word Commentary edited.

Abomination That Makes Desolate

  1. His heart shall be set against the holy covenant: When the vile person returned to his land, he would attack the land, people, and the temple of Israel. It will be a time of great courage and great treachery among the people of God.
  2. So he shall work his will and return to his own land: This was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes returned from Egypt, bitter from defeat. He vented his anger against Jerusalem, which was already shaken because Antiochus sold the office of High Priest and persecuted the Jewish people to conform to Greek culture, forsaking the faith and traditions of their fathers.
    1. He shall return to his land with great wealth: Failing in his invasion of Egypt, Antiochus Epiphanes returned home with only great plunder to soothe his wounded pride.
    2. Ships from Kittim (Cyprus) shall come against him: This was naval assistance from the Romans, who helped the Egyptians turn back Antiochus.
    3. Shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate: Antiochus Epiphanes set up an image of Zeus at the temple altar. He demanded sacrifice to this image, and later desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on it. “It was in truth an abomination, which brought a desolate condition to the Temple, for now no one would come to worship at all.”
    4. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action: When Antiochus Epiphanes turned on Jerusalem, the Jewish people were divided. Some forsook their covenant with God and embraced Greek culture. Those who knew their God made a stand for righteousness in the face of incredible persecution.
    5. For some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder: In his attack on Jerusalem Antiochus IV is said to have killed 80,000 Jews, taken 40,000 more as prisoners, and sold another 40,000 as slaves. He also plundered the temple, robbing it of approximately $1 billion by modern calculations.
    6. Until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time: This terror could only last for as long as God had appointed it, and God had a purpose even for such persecution and blasphemy.—Enduring Word Commentary edited.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Magnifies Himself

  1. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god: The angel explained to Daniel that this king would blaspheme God and exalt himself until the indignation is accomplished and for what is decreed shall be done.
  2. Above every god: Here we shift from what was fulfilled in the Ptolemies and the Selucids to what will be fulfilled in the Antichrist, the final world dictator. Daniel was told that this revelation pertained to the latter days (Daniel 10:14), and Daniel 11:36 begins to look more towards this final world dictator, who is sort of a “last days Antiochus Epiphanes.”
    1. We know that everything about this prophecy was not fulfilled during the career of Antiochus Epiphanes. Jesus specifically said the real abomination of desolation was still in the future (Matthew 24:15). The Apostle Paul paraphrased Daniel 11:36 in reference to the coming Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
    2. Antiochus Epiphanes is important, but mostly as a historical preview of the Antichrist.
  3. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god: Antiochus Epiphanes certainly did this in the general sense that all sinners oppose God. Yet he remained loyal to the Greek religious tradition, which revered the entire Olympian pantheon.
  4. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished: Antichrist will do much damage, but he is on a short chain and will only work into God’s plan. God’s purpose will be accomplished.—Enduring Word Commentary edited.

Antiochus Epiphanes As Recorded In Daniel 8:13–14

  1. Then I heard a holy one speaking: Many think this nameless holy one is an Old Testament appBarance of Jesus. This is possible, but there is not enough information to be certain.
  2. How long will the vision be? Daniel didn’t ask this question; he heard the holy ones speaking together and one of them asked the question. They wanted to know how long the sacrifices would be suspended and how long the sanctuary would be desecrated.
  3. For two thousand three hundred days: Literally, Daniel heard a holy one say “two thousand three hundred mornings and evenings.” Bible students debate if this means 2,300 days or 1,150 days. 2,300 days is almost seven years and far longer than Antiochus IV Epiphanes polluted the temple.
  1. If we take it to mean 1,150 days it can refer to the time the temple was actually desecrated. Philip Newell makes this case: “For a duration of time during which 2300 daily sacrifices would ordinarily have been offered, one at evening and one in the morning, as specified in Exodus 29:38-43. Since there are two of these daily, the actual time period involved is 1150 days, or slightly over three years. This, in fact, was the time of the Maccabean tribulation, 168-165 B.C., at the end of which the sanctuary was ‘cleansed’ by Judas Maccabeus in his restoration of the evening and morning sacrifices (2 Maccabees 10:1-5).”
  2. This passage has been a favorite springboard for elaborate and fanciful prophetic interpretations. A popular and tragic interpretation of this passage took one year for every day, and William Miller used 2,300 “year-days” to calculate that Jesus would return in 1844 (2,300 years after Cyrus issued the decree to rebuild the temple). His movement ended up giving birth to the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and several other movements.
  3. We can know that Miller and other “year-day” theories are wrong because this passage was fulfilled before the time of Jesus. Jesus recognized that the temple was properly cleansed and rededicated when He attended the Feast of Dedication, commemorating the cleansing and rededication of the temple after the desecration brought by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (John 10:22).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes: Type of the Coming Antichrist

  1. Then the sanctuary shall be cleansed: This amazingly specific prophecy was written some 350 years before the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Great prophetic fulfillments like this demonstrate that God not only knows the future, He also guides the future—Enduring Word Commentary edited.

While the immediate context of this passage is clearly about Antiochus IV Epiphanes which is confirmed in the historical record, how it will be fulfilled by the Antichrist in the end times has been much debated.

Considering these verses, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary says:

The following verse in the next chapter should explain why this is so:

Summary

  1. Daniel 11:20-35 focuses primarily on what is now verified fulfilled history concerning Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his desecration of the temple during the time of the Maccabees.
  2. However, verses 37”45 make a transition to the end times of the tribulation where the temple in Jerusalem will be occupied and desecrated by the Antichrist. In other words the terrible actions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes is a precursor of the coming Antichrist.
  3. Concerning Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ desecration during the time of the Maccabean tribulation, 168-165 B.C., the time span of three plus years matches perfectly the “2,300 evenings and mornings” or 1150 days of Dan. 8:14. Clearly Ellen G. White had no biblical grounds for projecting this time span forward to October 22, 1844.
  4. While knowing there will be the Antichrist during the tribulation, our focus is to be on the promised return of our Savior Jesus Christ:

—All references unless otherwise stated are taken from the ESV.

 

Phillip Harris

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