Tuesday 10 April 2018

Daniel 11:20-24 Fulfilled (BD38)

             'Book of Daniel'

Dan 11:20 "There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle."
   Antiochus III's eldest son, Seleucus IV Philopater, took over after his father's death. Due to the heavy debt burden imposed by Rome, he was forced to impose heavy taxation on the people of Israel. Seleucus was soon poisoned to death by his minister, Heliodorus.

Prophecies in Daniel 11:21-28, involve the rise of Antiochus to power, the conflicts of the ruler with Egypt (i.e., the king of the south), and his hostilities toward the people of Israel.

Dan 11:21 "And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue."
   Antiochus was the third son of Antiochus III the Great. After his father's defeat by the Romans in 190—189, he served as hostage for his father in Rome from 189 to 175, where he learned to admire Roman institutions and policies. His brother, King Seleucus IV, exchanged him for Demetrius, the son of Seleucus; and after Seleucus was murdered by Heliodorus, a usurper, Antiochus in turn ousted him"

Dan 11:22 "With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant."
   Because of his ability to deceive people, Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("God manifest") was able to overcome all threats to his throne. Onias III was the high priest (prince of the covenant) at the time that Antiochus IV came to the throne. A brother of Onias named Joshua, who had become hellenized and changed his name to Jason, gave a heavy bribe to Antiochus IV to remove Onias. So Antiochus IV forced Onias out and installed Jason as high priest in Jerusalem in 174 BCE.

Dan 11:23 "And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people."
   Once again, the "king of the North" set his sights on the kingdom of the South. In Egypt, the 14-year old Ptolemy VI Philometer had become king. He was the nephew of Antiochus IV; his mother (Cleopatra I) was Antiochus IV's sister. Antiochus IV sought an alliance with Ptolemy VI, seeking to take advantage of what he perceived as weakness in the Ptolemaic kingdom and gain Egypt for himself. He moved through Syria and Judea into Egypt with a small army, so as not to arouse suspicion to his true motive of seizing Egypt. His cover story was that he was coming to act as the "protector" of his nephew, Ptolemy VI.

Dan 11:24 "He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time."
   Antiochus IV pursued a novel plan for gaining the Egyptian-controlled provinces. He moved into the parts of the kingdom that were the richest. Then he did something that no other Seleucid king had ever done. Antiochus IV spread around some of the spoils from his war campaigns to secure the loyalty of the people. The historical book of I Maccabees states that he spent much on the public (I Mac. 3:30). It is even reported that he would go into the streets and throw money to the citizens there. However, this was only the beginning of Antiochus IV's plan. Using his cunning, he visited Egyptian strongholds to find out their power.