Daniel 11:2-45, The Near and Far Antichrist

This very long and complex vision is a remarkably detailed prophecy of what will happen to the holy land in the future, something Daniel could not have known otherwise than by divine revelation.

^11:2 “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

This prophecy was received around 535 B.C.E. Four kings did follow Cyrus, Cambyses (529-523), then for a year or two an imposter named Gaumata or Bardiya (523-522), and Darius the Persian (522-485). Darius went to war with Greece, failed, and his son Xerxes followed in his footsteps and was defeated by the Greeks in 480 B.C.E.

 ³ Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. ⁴ After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

Alexander the Great had a stunning, if short, career of expanding the Greek empire, including the holy land, but at his death his kingdom was parceled out to four generals. The southern Greek kingdom was centered in Egypt and Palestine, the northern in Babylon.

⁵ “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. ⁶ After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

Ptolemy I became strong, but one of his commanders, Seleucus Nicator, who was actually from the kingdom of the North and had defected to the South, declared himself king and became even stronger, taking control of Alexander’s old territories. They sought to make an alliance, or their sons did, by a marriage of Berenice, Ptolemy II’s daughter, to Antiochus, Seleucus Nicator’s son, but Berenice was murdered by Antiochus’ divorced wife.

⁷ “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. ⁸ He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. ⁹ Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. ¹⁰ His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

¹¹ “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. ¹² When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. ¹³ For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.

Ptolemy III did get revenge and did gain a large treasure.

¹⁴ “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. ¹⁶ The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. ¹⁷ He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. ¹⁸ Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. ¹⁹ After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

Antiochus III of the North fought against Ptolemy V and gained control of Israel, “the Beautiful Land,” and then sought to make an alliance by giving his daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy V, but she became sympathetic to her husband and would not help Antiochus overthrow the South.

²⁰ “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

Seleucus IV of the North, the oldest son of Antiochus, sent a tax collector to get the treasures of the Jerusalem temple, but a vision of angels standing against him prevented him from succeeding (see 2 Maccabees 3:7-40).

²¹ “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. ²² Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. ²³ After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. ²⁴ When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

This was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who “threw his intended victims off guard by offering them his friendship and alliance.” (Expositor’s Commentary). He made a covenant with Ptolemy Philometor of the South, one of his captives, to return him to Egypt to rule, but ended up fighting against him.

²⁵ “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. ²⁶ Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. ²⁷ The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. ²⁸ The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

²⁹ “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰ Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

Antiochus Epiphanes was stopped by the Romans and in anger turned his attention to wiping out the worship of the Jews. The Jewish high priest, who had purchased his position from Antiochus, aided Antiochus, who thus showed favor to him and others who had forsaken the covenant with Yahweh.

³¹ “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. ³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

Antiochus stopped sacrifices in the temple and set up a statue of Zeus in it, the “abomination that causes desolation.”

³³ “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

A group of believing Jews formed a resistance against Antiochus, evangelizing fellow Jews and forming an army that was eventually able to win back the temple, a victory celebrated today as Hannukah.  What follows now, however, has no historic fulfillment. It seems the vision is now looking at the future revived empire and the antichrist who seeks world domination. Antiochus did not exalt himself above every god, but in fact showed regard for the gods of his ancestors (Zeus)

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. ³⁸ Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.

⁴⁰ “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. ⁴¹ He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. ⁴² He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission. ⁴⁴ But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The antichrist yet future be the one who makes a covenant with Israel for seven years that he breaks halfway through. He desecrates the temple with a statue to himself (2 Thessalonians 2), the “abomination that makes desolate” that Jesus talks about as yet future in Matthew 24:15. He will invade the holy land (Revelation 19) and try to destroy all believers, but he will come to an end when Jesus returns and fights against him. He will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20).