Daniel 11:36

After the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar took control of the land of Judea, the Jews were never again an independent state until 1948 A.D. In Daniel 11 we have traced their history under the domination of Medo-Persia, then Greece, and now we move ahead to the time of the Roman empire when Rome dominated the land of Judea.

Daniel 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

The king in this verse refers to the dynasty of Herod under Rome. Recall that this vision pertains to the history of Daniel’s people in the latter days (Daniel 10:14). All the things in this vision of Daniel 11 were “finished” when “the power of the holy people” was scattered, which happened with the final overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Daniel 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Therefore, those latter days ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. So the vision of Daniel 11 takes us from the rule of the Persians and then the Grecians over Israel through to the rule of the Romans, who finally destroyed their nation. The dynasty of Herod prospered in Palestine till the indignation was accomplished. This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was that that is determined that would be done. The following prophecy of Daniel specifically refers to the destruction of Jerusalem as something determined to be accomplished.

Daniel 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Herod the Great, who ruled Judea from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D. is the particular king referred to in Daniel 11:36, which we consider today. Herod is the only earthly monarch the writers of the gospels call the king.

Luke 1:5  There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Herod the Great did according to his will. Commenting on this Philip Mauro wrote:

“This is what distinguished Herod the Great in a remarkable degree. For history records nothing of his nature was more notable than Herod’s success in rising up from a lowly origin to the rank and authority of king, in securing for himself despotic power and retaining it through all the political changes of the times, and in the way he used power for the accomplishment of all his designs, however stupendous in magnitude (as the rebuilding of the temple) or atrocious in character (as condemning to death his own wife and children). For Herod contrived to secure the favor and confidence, first of Julius Caesar, then of Mark Antony, and then of Octavius Caesar, though he assisted Antony and Cleopatra against him. All things considered, there is nothing more wonderful in the career of Herod than his extraordinary success in doing ‘according to his will.’ ¶But, taking the expression in the other sense, we may say that it would be difficult to find in history one who so ruthlessly executed the designs of his own tyrannical and cruel heart, even upon those of his own flesh and blood, as Herod the king. His murder of his best-loved wife, the beautiful Mariamne, who was a princess of the Asmonean family, is, in its special circumstances, without parallel in history. He put to death also three of his own sons (two of them by his favorite wife) because he suspected them of aspiring to his throne; and similar deeds of willfulness characterized his entire reign. Josephus gives many examples of this (Antiquities of the Jews XII 9, 4).”

In Moses’ law, God-appointed rulers in Israel were called gods in that they partook of divinely appointed authority.

Exodus 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

Now Herod exalted and magnified himself above every god or authority in Israel, even taking upon himself to appoint the office of the high priest. He spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he promoted in Israel the worship of Caesar. He also spake marvellous things against the God of gods when he issued the decree to have all the young children in Bethlehem two years old and under slain in an attempt to kill the child Jesus, Who is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 2:16-18).

Daniel 11:34-35

We continue tracing Daniel’s prophecy of those Jews who knew their God, were strong, and did exploits. This is what I wrote about these Jews in the last installment: “A particular family of these faithful Jews was the family of Mattathias, a priest who dwelt in Modin. He had five sons named John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan. They refused to bend to Antiochus’ commandments and mounted a resistance against him and his forces. This family came to be known as the Asmoneans, named so after Mattathias’ great grandfather, Asamoneus (according to Josephus).”

Daniel 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

When the Asmoneans or Maccabees fell, they were holpen with a little help. For example, when Mattathias the priest died, his son Judas “rose up in his stead” and mounted a successful campaign against the army of Syria “with a small company.” That is, they were holpen with a little help. Here is the account from the book of Maccabees showing the fulfillment of this prophecy.

1 Maccabees 3:1  Then his son Judas, called Maccabeus, rose up in his stead.

1 Maccabees 3:13  Now when Seron, a prince of the army of Syria, heard say that Judas had gathered unto him a multitude and company of the faithful to go out with him to war;

14  He said, I will get me a name and honour in the kingdom; for I will go fight with Judas and them that are with him, who despise the king's commandment.

15  So he made him ready to go up, and there went with him a mighty host of the ungodly to help him, and to be avenged of the children of Israel.

16  And when he came near to the going up of Bethhoron, Judas went forth to meet him with a small company:

17  Who, when they saw the host coming to meet them, said unto Judas, How shall we be able, being so few, to fight against so great a multitude and so strong, seeing we are ready to faint with fasting all this day?

18  Unto whom Judas answered, It is no hard matter for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and with the God of heaven it is all one, to deliver with a great multitude, or a small company:

19  For the victory of battle standeth not in the multitude of an host; but strength cometh from heaven.

20  They come against us in much pride and iniquity to destroy us, and our wives and children, and to spoil us:

21  But we fight for our lives and our laws.

22  Wherefore the Lord himself will overthrow them before our face: and as for you, be ye not afraid of them.

23  Now as soon as he had left off speaking, he leapt suddenly upon them, and so Seron and his host was overthrown before him.

However, Daniel prophesied that many clave to them with flatteries. We find a fulfillment of this prophecy also recorded in the book of the Maccabees. Two men by the name of Joseph and Azarias, captains of garrisons, upon hearing of the valiant acts of Judas Maccabeus decided to fight against the heathen as did he. But their motive was to get themselves a name.

1 Maccabees 5:55  Now what time as Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Galaad, and Simon his brother in Galilee before Ptolemais,

56  Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains of the garrisons, heard of the valiant acts and warlike deeds which they had done.

57  Wherefore they said, Let us also get us a name, and go fight against the heathen that are round about us.

After one battle Judas and his companions came to bury their slain kinsmen and discovered in their coats “things consecrated to the idols.”

2 Maccabees 12:39  And upon the day following, as the use had been, Judas and his company came to take up the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen in their fathers' graves.

40  Now under the coats of every one that was slain they found things consecrated to the idols of the Jamnites, which is forbidden the Jews by the law. Then every man saw that this was the cause wherefore they were slain.

And so we see that all that clave to Judas were not sincere, but were pretending allegiance to his cause. That is, they clave to them with flatteries.

Daniel goes on to predict what happened to some of the noble souls that knew their God and did exploits.

Daniel 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Some of the people that knew their God and had understanding fell in battle and into captivity. Eleazar, was crushed by an elephant in battle (1Maccabees 6:46). Judas was killed in battle (1Maccabees 9:18). John, a captain of the Jews, was taken captive (1Maccabees 9:36). Tryphon, who attempted to seize the crown of Syria for himself, deceived Jonathan into accepting a truce promising him the stronghold of Ptolemais. But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the gates were shut about him and he was taken captive and killed (1Maccabees 12:42-48). Now all this was to try them, and to purge, and to make them white. God allows tribulation, even martyrdom, to come upon His faithful people to make them white, that is, to make them better because the best of men have that about them that requires purging and cleansing (2Timothy 2:20-21; John 15:2; James 1:2-3; 1Peter 1:7; 4:12; Revelation 2:10).

The rule of the noble family of the Maccabees extended to 37 B.C., the time of King Herod. The last Asmonean high priest was Aristobulus III, whom Herod elevated to high priest at a very young age only then to have him drowned while bathing in a pool in Jericho in 36 B.C. The Dynasty of Herod continued from that point to the destruction of Jerusalem. Hence, the dynasty of Herod brings us to the last stage of Jewish history that Daniel prophesied of, that is, the time of the end. There was yet a time appointed for these events prophesied by Daniel to transpire.