Daniel the Framework of Prophetic Revelation 1 Daniels

Daniel: the Framework of Prophetic Revelation 1

Daniel’s th 4 Vision (10: 1 -12: 13) Prophecy of Israel’s Humiliation & Restoration Daniel 11—part 3 2

Practical Application 3

The Bible is God’s inspired Word. It was originally written without any error whatsoever. No prophetic detail of any biblical prophecy has been wrong. You can always trust God’s Word to be true. 4

Gentile kingdoms won’t last. God will use their persecutions to purify His people, bring about the destruction of these kingdoms, & finally bring about Christ’s Return. God’s people will be delivered & glorified. 5

The Literary Structure of Daniel 11 6

The Initial Kings, 1 -4 The Kings of the South and the North, 5 -9 The Kings of the North and the South do Battle, 10 -13 The King of the North’s Exploits, 14 -19 The First Successor, 20 ==>The Final Successor: his initial exploits, 21 -28 ==>The Final Successor: his further exploits, 29 -35 The Future Successor: his final exploits, 36 -39 The Future Successor: his final days, 40 -45 7

The Initial Kings, 1 -4 The Kings of the South and the North, 5 -9 The Kings of the North and the South do Battle, 10 -13 The King of the North’s Exploits, 14 -19 The First Successor, 20 The Final Successor: his initial exploits, 21 -28 8

• This next ancient ruler will be the final/last ancient ruler found in Daniel chapter 11. • This final ancient ruler will prefigure (be a picture of) Antichrist. • We have encountered this ruler in Daniel 8— the “little horn” that grew out of one of the Goat’s four horns. 9

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Epiphanes = the Manifested One is a Greek term used for a god, like Zeus, Apollo, or Hermes manifested to the eyes of men) 10

11

Verses 21 -28 cover a period of ~9 yrs (175 -167 BC). 12

21 In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility & seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him & shattered, & also the prince of the covenant. 13

23 After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, & he will go up & gain power with a small force of people. 24 In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, & he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty & possessions among them, & he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but 14

25 He will stir up his strength & courage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large & mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, & his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain. 15

27 As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, & they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant, & he will 16

Detailed Examination of Verses 21 -28 17

21 In his[Seleucus II Philopater, v 20]place. . . Seleucus II Philopater (v 20) was assassinated by his emissary 18

21 In his place a despicable person will arise. . . Antiochus IV Epiphanes: —born 214 BC —a son of Antiochus III Megas —died 164 BC 19

21. . . a despicable person. . . on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred 20

21. . . a despicable person. . . he will come in a time of tranquility 21

21. . . a despicable person. . . he will come in a time of tranquility & seize the kingdom by intrigue • Antiochus seized the throne, proclaiming himself co-regent with another son of Seleucus, an infant named Antiochus, whom he then murdered a few years later. 22

22 The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him & shattered • Others opposed Antiochus IV Epiphanes, seizing of the throne, but they could not stand against Antiochus’ forces. He defeated all who opposed him. 23

covenant. • “prince of the covenant” was, at that time, a title for the High Priest of Israel. • This refers to the murder of the Jewish High Priest, Onias III, in 172 BC by his own brother, Menalaus, at Antiochus’ request. 24

practice deception. . . • Antiochus makes an alliance with one of two of his nephews(Ptolemy VI Philometer)attempting to rule Egypt, making him a ‘puppet’ ruler. • He will thus be able to invade part of 25

go up & gain power with a small force of people. • The small force doesn’t attract too much attention, and Antiochus uses 26

richest parts of the realm. . . he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. • Antiochus will raid & rob parts of Egypt of 27

he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty & possessions among them • Antiochus will utilize stolen treasures differently than his ancestors did (1 Macc. 3: 30). • Antiochus will not simply enrich himself with 28

against the king of the South with a large army. . . • Now, he betrays Philometer, who he made ‘puppet’ king in Egypt, & seeks to take 29

extremely large & mighty army for war; but he[the king of the south]will not stand. . . • In 170 BC, Antiochus defeats Philometer, but allows him to remain in power, in order to not alarm Rome, which his nephew, fearing Antiochus, had drawn close to as well as to 30

25. . . the king of the South. . . will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 Those who eat his[Philometer’s]choice food will destroy him • Ptolemy Philometer was incited by his trusted counselors to resist Antiochus in the hopes that Antiochus would kill Philometer so that 31

food will destroy him, & his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain. • Philometer attacks Antiochus & loses many soldiers in the ill-advised 32

27 As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil & they will speak lies to each other at the same table. . . • Their peaceful overtures hide their real intentions —Antiochus still wishes to conquer all of Egypt, & Philometer wishes to make a temporary peace with his brother to defeat Antiochus, after which 33

27. . . both kings. . . speak lies to each other at the same table; but it[truce]will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. • This truce is short & only two years later, in 168 BC, Antiochus returns & invades Egypt. 34

28 Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant[Israel], & he will take action & then return to his own land. • In 169 BC, on his way back to his home, Antiochus would attack Israel, kill 80, 000 Jewish men, women, & children, and plunder the Temple in Jerusalem 35

Summary of Fulfilled Prophecies in verses 21 -28 36

• kingdom. Antiochus seized the throne, deceitfully proclaiming himself co -regent with the rightful heir—an infant. • Tribute was being paid to Rome for peace. • Antiochus murdered the infant & seized sole control of the 37 • Antiochus was opposed, but defeated all who came against him. • Antiochus murdered the High Priest of Israel in 172 BC.

• Antiochus makes an alliance with Ptolemy VI Philometer. • Antiochus will raid & rob parts of Egypt of their treasures. • Antiochus attacks Egyptian cities & temples with a small force. • Antiochus will utilize stolen treasures differently than his ancestors did. 38

• • Antiochus will not simply enrich himself with his stolen treasures, he will buy loyalty to himself. He betrays Philometer & seeks to take over all of Egypt. • • 39 In 170 BC, Antiochus defeats Philometer, but allows him to remain in power. Ptolemy Philometer was betrayed by his advisors.

• Philometer attacks Antiochus & loses many soldiers. • Philometer & Antiochus make peace, but each still is secretly plotting against the other. • • 40 This truce is short & only 2 years later, in 168 BC, Antiochus returns & invades Egypt. In 169 BC, on his way back to his home, Antiochus would plunder Israel.

details in vv 21 -28. • That’s 68 prophetic details in vv 128. • All 68 prophetic details were fulfilled. • None failed to come to pass as 41

• The odds of all 68 prophetic details being fulfilled are 1 in 295, 147, 905, 179, 353, 000 — that’s 1 chance in 295 quintillion!!! (a quintillion is a ‘ 1’ followed by 18 zeros) or 0. 00000000033881317890172% chance • that is the population of ~42. 1 billion planet Earths 42

• The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot in 2019 is 1 chance in 292 million. • This number is more than 1 trillion times larger • Someone would only win once in approx. 42. 1 billion years! 43

The Initial Kings, 1 -4 The Kings of the South and the North, 5 -9 The Kings of the North and the South do Battle, 10 -13 The King of the North’s Exploits, 14 -19 The First Successor, 20 The Final Successor: his initial exploits, 21 -28 The Final Successor: his further exploits, 29 -35 44

Verses 29 -35 cover a period of ~5 yrs (168 -164 BC). 45

29 At the appointed time he will return & come into the South, but this last time. . . • In 168 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes attacks the kingdom of the South (Egypt) for the last time. 46

47

29. . . this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. • He was not going to be victorious & carry off treasure, or leave with an upper hand in a truce. 48

against him; therefore he will be disheartened & will return. . . • The Roman Empire will intervene & w/o a battle send 49

The backstory is that as Antiochus was going to invade Alexandria, an elderly Roman ambassador, Gaius Popillius Laenas, approaches Antiochus, refuses to shake hands with Antiochus, & tells him to withdraw his forces. Antiochus refuses 50

The Roman ambassador draws a circle in the sand around Antiochus & tells him that if he crosses the line drawn in the sand w/o agreeing to withdraw, he will be at war with Rome. Antiochus agrees to withdraw & the ambassador shakes hands with him. 51

enraged at the Holy Covenant & take action. . . • upset over being humbled by Rome, Antiochus takes it out on the Jews by murdering many & desecrating the Temple (1 Maccabees 1: 29 -64). • This is a summary statement of Antiochus’ 52

30. . . so he[Antiochus]will come back & show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. • some Jews want to Hellenize Israel & reach out to Antiochus, making peace with them & putting them in power. • This is a slightly shorter summary statement of 53

31 Forces from him will arise, desecrate the Sanctuary fortress, & do away with the regular sacrifice & they will set up the abomination of desolation. • Antiochus’ forces, together w/apostate Jews, take over the Temple & do away w/sacrifice, & set up an altar to Zeus, slaughter a sow, & sprinkle its blood in the 54

32 By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant. . . • Antiochus convinces some apostate Jews, who wanted to Hellenize Israel, to side with him. 55

32. . . but the people who know their God will display strength & take action. • The priest Mattathias Maccabeus & his 5 sons organize a rebellion—Judas “the Hammer” Maccabeus leads Jewish forces to victory ~2 yrs later, & w/i another 2 yrs forces all Antiochus’ 56

give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword & by flame, by captivity & by plunder for many days. • Led by the Maccabees, the very religious Hasidean Jews, fought back—ultimately they will be victorious, but early on they suffered 57

34 Now when they fall they will be granted a little help. . . • Rome will promise some help, but does very little. • Just the promise of help does produce some 58

join with them in hypocrisy. • When Rome promises help, some will hypocritically side with he Maccabean-led Hasidean Jews b/c they fear what would happen to them for initially siding with 59

35 Some of those who have insight will fall. . . • Some of the faithful Jews will die as martyrs 60

35 Some. . . will fall, in order to refine, purge & make them pure. . . • The persecution is for the 61

35. . . make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time. • “b/c. . . still to come”—vv 29 -35 serve as a foretaste of a greater evil still to come for God’s People, the Jews, at the End of the Age. • This verse serves as a transition into v 36, where the 62

Summary of Fulfilled Prophecies in verses 29 -35 63

• • • Antiochus attacks Egypt for the last time. He’s not victorious. • The Roman Empire will intervene; Antiochus • 64 fighting. Antiochus takes it out on the Jews— murders many & desecrates the Temple. Some Jews want to Hellenize Israel & side with

• • • The Maccabees lead a rebellion. Religious Hasidean Jews join the Maccabees in revolt. Ultimately they will be victorious, but early on they suffered some defeats. 65 • Rome promises some help, but does little. • Some Jews who sided w/Antiochus, fearing Jewish victory, rejoin the Maccabees & Hasideans.

details in vv 29 -35. • That’s 78 prophetic details in vv 135. • All 78 prophetic details were fulfilled. • None failed to come to pass as 66

• The odds of all 78 prophetic details being fulfilled are 1 in 302, 231, 454, 903, 657, 000, 000— that’s 1 chance in 302 sextillion!!! (a sextillion is a ‘ 1’ followed by 21 zeros) or 0. 0000000000033087224502121% chance • that is the population of ~43. 1 trillion planet Earths 67

• The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot in 2019 is 1 chance in 292 million. • This number is more than 1 quadrillion times larger. • Someone would only win once in ~43. 1 trillion years! 68

The Initial Kings, 1 -4 The Kings of the South and the North, 5 -9 The Kings of the North and the South do Battle, 10 -13 The King of the North’s Exploits, 14 -19 The First Successor, 20 The Final Successor: his initial exploits, 21 -28 The Final Successor: his further exploits, 29 -35 The Future Successor: his final exploits, 36 -39 69

Daniel’s th 4 Vision (10: 1 -12: 13) Prophecy of Israel’s Humiliation & Restoration Daniel 11—part 3 70