Daniel 11:20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
Then
Seluecus Philopater stood up
in his estate,
that is, in
the
estate left by his father Antiochus the Great. Seluecus is
called a
raiser of taxes since
he had to raise large sums of money to pay the tribute to Rome and to
satisfy his own greed. He raised these taxes from the wealthy and
the nobility, the
glory of his kingdom,
and also from Judea, the glorious land. After he had reigned twelve
years, which was a few
days in
comparison to the 37 years his father reigned, he was poisoned by his
treasurer Heliodorus. Therefore, he was destroyed,
neither in anger,
as in a mass revolt of his subjects, nor
in battle.
Commenting on the foregoing
verses Matthew Henry wrote:
“This world is full of wars and fightings, which come from men’s lusts, and make it a theatre of sin and misery. All the changes and revolutions of states and kingdoms, and every event, even the most minute and contingent, were plainly and perfectly foreseen by the God of heaven, and to him nothing is new.”
And
this brings us
in the
next verse to the
rise of of
the infamous Antiochus
Epiphanes as the king of Syria after Seluecus Philopater.
Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
The
reign of this Antiochus Epiphanes
is described
through to verse
35 of
Daniel 11.
He is the
same as “the
little horn” prophesied of in DAN 8:23-25.
Daniel 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
He
is called a
vile person and
history recounts him to have been very immoral, base, perverse, and a
violent persecutor of the Jews as the
above passage of Daniel
8:23-25
prophesied he would be.
Now
consider the precise fulfillment of Daniel 11:21.
The
kingdom of
Syria was
intended for Antiochus’
nephew
Demetrius, son of his eldest brother. Hence, Antiochus was not given
the
honour of the kingdom. Demetrius
was then being held as a hostage in Rome as a result of the Roman
conquest mentioned in the previous verses. Antiochus pretended to
reign for Demetrius until he was released and returned to Syria.
Therefore, under this guise he came in
peaceably. By
flattering speeches to the nobles and distributing gifts to the
citizens he obtained the
kingdom by flatteries.
How this all sounds like modern politics! He also secured his power
by enlisting the help of Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and his brother
Attalus, who were neigbouring princes. Now
let’s follow the sordid career of Antiochus.
Daniel 11:22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
Heliodorus,
who
poisoned the predecessor of Antiochus, tried
to usurp the kingdom of
Syria for
himself. However, with the help the Eumenes, Attalus, and the forces
of Pergamos, called here the
arms of a flood,
Heliodorus and those who sided with him were overflown
from before Antiochus
and
broken.
Antiochus’ nephew Demetrius was the
prince of the covenant in
that Antiochus covenanted him that he would resign when Demetrius
returned from being held hostage in Rome. But the prince of the
covenant was broken in that Antiochus seized the power with no intent
of relinquishing it.
Antiochus
entered into a league with Ptolemy Philometer, who was the son of his
sister Cleopatra. After
the league that
Antiochus made with Ptolemy he worked deceitfully.
He came up to Egypt with a small group of soldiers so as to arouse
no suspicion and placed some of his men in the strongholds of Egypt.
Thus he became strong
with a small people.
This was the first of three times he came up against Egypt.
Antiochus
entered peaceably
even upon the fattest places of the province of
Egypt. He insinuated himself into the affections of the people by
scattering among them the
prey, and spoil, and riches of
those he conquered as well as his own. This he did in excess of his
fathers and
his
fathers’ fathers.
1Maccabees
3:30 says of him that
in liberally giving gifts “he
had abounded more than the kings that were
before him.” He enjoyed greater conquests against Egypt than his
forefathers had. He forecast
his devices against the strongholds of
Egypt, contriving ways to get them into his possession. He did this
even
for a time until
the king of Eygpt, Ptolemy Philometer was of age and resisted him or
until the Romans stopped him. We
will pick up what happened further between Antiochus and Ptolemy in
our next installment. In the meantime, marvel with me at the precise
fulfillment of this prophecy of Daniel. Indeed, the Bible is in
truth the word of God!
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