Written by Richard S. Thompson Thursday, 06 September :00 - Last Updated Thursday, 25 October :10

Transcription

1 Lesson 11 Daniel 11:1-11:35 About 535 BC In lesson 10 we studied the context of Daniel s last great revelation from the LORD. We saw that in the third year of the rule of Cyrus over the land Daniel was returning from Susa where he had been pleading for Cyrus to allow the Jews in Jerusalem to continue building the Temple. The Jews had returned to Jerusalem three years before, but in the second year, they had been denied the authority to rebuild the Temple as promised. Daniel must have led an embassy to Cyrus to change that policy. When he had failed he had gone into a period of fasting and mourning trying to understand why the LORD was allowing this. Finally, twenty-one days later, on his way back home to Babylon, he and his traveling companions came to the Tigris River. It was there he saw the vision of a figure that was certainly Christ in His glory. Although the rest of his party could not see the figure, something caused them to flee in terror leaving Daniel alone. Daniel was overwhelmed by the appearance of the figure, but then an angel appeared who strengthened and reassured him. In the process of identifying himself, this angel revealed something about the great angelic conflict that is ongoing between the angels of Satan and the angels of God. The angel had come to give Daniel some answers to reassure him, and the succeeding generations of Jewish believers, that God truly does control history in spite of what look like setbacks like the twenty year delay in the construction of the Temple. Daniel 11:2 Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear 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. The three kings mentioned here are Cyrus II ( BC), Cambyses ( BC), and Darius I Hytaspes ( BC). The fourth King is Xerxes I ( BC) who was the king at the time of Esther. It was he who led the great invasion of Greece which was turned back at the battles of Thermopylae & Salamis. This was the high water mark of the Persian Empire and marked the start of its decline. It was one of the signal events of history. Daniel 11:3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. This is clearly speaking of the rise of Alexander the Great which was the next signal event in 1 / 25

2 history. He destroyed Persia in three great battles (Granicus, Issus, and Gaugamela) from BC. The era of domination by the Greeks had already been prophesied in the visions of Daniel 7:6 and Daniel 8: Daniel 7:6 After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. Daniel 8:21-22 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. Daniel 11:4a After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward b y means of [a] the four winds of heaven. In Daniel 8 we saw these four successors to Alexander. The first was Ptolemy I Soter I. He and his descendants took the rule of the Egypt the area just south of the land of Israel. They are later referred to as the Kings of the South. The second was Seleucus Nicator I. He and his descendants ruled the area just north of the land of Israel centered on Syria and Turkey. They are later referred to as the Kings of the North. The third and fourth were Lysimachus who ruled Thrace, western Asia Minor and Macedon, and Antipater who ruled over much of Greece. They disappear from Biblical prophecy because they had no impact on Israel. Daniel 11:4b It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, 2 / 25

3 because his empire will be uprooted and given to others. [b] Although Alexander had a son born after his death in 323 BC, and the son (Alexander IV) was proclaimed King to succeed him, he never actually reigned. At the age of thirteen, when he had come to an age that he might actually claim power, Cassander, the son of Antipater, had him and his mother assassinated. Daniel 11:5 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. As noted, the king of the South was Ptolemy. Ptolemy had been Alexander s friend since childhood. Under him after Alexander s death was Seleucus. Early on after Alexander s death, Ptolemy had limited his ambitions to ruling Egypt. However, he supported Seleucus claim to become ruler over all the vast eastern reaches of Alexander s empire. It was even more powerful than Ptolemy s Egypt. Both men lived and reigned until they were about 80, so they had a chance to leave their successors a secure and well-ordered domain. Daniel 11:6a After some years, they will become allies. 3 / 25

4 This doesn t refer to Seleucus and Ptolemy, but to their descendants. I have included a table of those who ruled over their Kingdoms up to the time that the Jews won their independence under the Judas Maccabeus in 165 BC: Kings of Egypt (South), 323 BC Reign Length Time of Reign BC Kings of Syria (North), 312 BC Reign Length Time of Reign BC Ptolemy Soter Seleucus Nicator 4 / 25

5 Ptolemy Philadelphus Antiochus Soter Ptolemy Eugertes / 25

6 Antiochus Theus Ptolemy Philopator Seleucus Callinicus Ptolemy Epiphanes 24 6 / 25

7 Seleucus Ceraunus Antiochus Magnus Ptolemy Philometor 7 / 25

8 Seleucus Philopator Antiochus Epiphanes / 25

9 Daniel 11:6b 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 handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. After some years, after many disputes, a marriage alliance would be effected between the Kingdoms. The daughter of the King of the South who was the historical Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus married the king of the north, the historical Antiochus Theus, to make an alliance. Antiochus put away his previous wife, Laodice, so he might marry Berenice, but he later had a change of heart after the passing of Philadelphus and recalled Laodice. Laodicea made sure she would not be put away again. She poisoned Antiochus, and had Berenice, Berenice s new son by Antiochus, and all Berenice s Egyptian attendants killed. This all happened from 261 to 246 BC. Daniel 11:7 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. Berenice s brother, Ptolemy Eugertes, who had just recently come to the throne, was outraged. He invaded Syria, occupied the capital Seleucia, which he maintained with garrisons for some years and had Laodice slain. He would have occupied the entire kingdom of the north, had not unrest called him back to Egypt. Daniel 11:8 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. As he went Ptolemy Eugertes took 40,000 talents of silver, and retrieved 2,500 images which Cambyses, Persian monarch, had taken from Egypt centuries earlier. He also then refrained from attacking the Seluecids again for some time. Daniel 11:9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. 9 / 25

10 Seleucus Callinicus ( BC), son of the deceased Laodice, sought revenge for the vengeance taken by Eugertes. The Roman Historian Justin (2 nd Century AD) quoting from the 1 st Century BC history of Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus says that Seleucus Callinicus fitted out a great fleet, which was destroyed by a violent storm; and after this he raised a great army to recover his dominion, but was defeated by Ptolemy, and fled to his capital at Antioch. [c] Daniel 11:10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which and one [d] will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. Callinicus sons Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus Magnus continued the quest for retribution after their father s passing, but Ceraunus was poisoned by two of his generals and Magnus became king. Thus sons were stirred up, but only one, Antiochus Magnus, followed through. Magnus was stirred up, even to his fortress, retaking Seleucia and other lost portions of his northern kingdom. Daniel 11:11 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. Ptolemy Philopator met this challenge with an attack northward and won a great victory at Raphia in 217 BC. Daniel 11:12 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. Philopator returned through Judea where he demanded to see the Holy of Holies at Jerusalem. He was prevented by the Jews, but was so offended that when he returned to Egypt he caused the death of 40,000 Jews among the much larger Jewish population of Alexandria. This betrayed what a disastrously bad king he was for Egypt and his dynasty. Daniel 11:13 For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and 10 / 25

11 after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. About 14 years later Antiochus Magnus assembled yet a greater force to attack Egypt, encouraged by the demise of Ptolemy Philopator and the ascent of the young child Ptolemy Epiphanes in Egypt. Daniel 11:14a In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Magnus was joined by others which included Philip, king of Macedonia, who conspired with Magnus to divide Egypt s kingdom between them. Daniel 11:14b The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success The breakers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. Most commentaries I read on this passage just ignored this phrase. I only found one commentary that made sense. Its interpretation was based on a more literal translation from the original. Their translation was The breakers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall which I have substituted. The word they translate breakers and the NIV translates violent men is the Hebrew word יץ ר פ {per ēts'} which means breaker, destroyer, or scatterer. You will notice they also give the more literal translation of your people rather than among your people. The breakers of Daniel s people would eventually be Rome, as the vision of Daniel 9 makes clear. Rome would eventually play the dominant role in the visions of Daniel, but not yet. What this points to historically is the first intrusion of the Roman power into the chain of events, which was unsuccessful. The Roman Senate had dispatched, Scopas, a famous general to the service of the Egyptians. After initially attacking north with some success he was defeated by forces from Magnus [e] and fled to Sidon where he submitted to a disgraceful surrender. Daniel 11:15-16 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. 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. 11 / 25

12 Antiochus Magnus then took the fortified city of Jerusalem. According to Josephus, he took it with much aid of Jewish volunteers who helped him oust the Egyptian garrison by besieging the citadel. [f] This opened his way for taking all of Judea from the Egyptians. Daniel 11:17 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. As soon as Antiochus Magnus approached Egypt, he came upon a plan calculated to claim the kingdom by subtlety rather than force. He married his daughter Cleopatra [g] to Ptolemy Epiphanes, hoping to work through her to affect his influence. However the plan failed because her allegiance shifted away from her father, in favor of her new husband. Daniel 11:18 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 upon him. Antiochus Magnus brought into subjection nearly all the coastland ports on the coast of Asia, Thrace and Greece. His name Magnus, Great, properly denoted the strength of his rule, and conflict with Rome was inevitable. Rome had by this time conquered lands on his border in western Asia Minor. After being repulsed at sea by the Roman Livius and Aemilius, Magnus was defeated near Magnesia in Asia Minor by the Roman general Scipio. Thus a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him Daniel 11:19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more. Antiochus Magnus never recovered from the blow, and the tribute he was obliged to render Rome under the terms of peace was onerous. He was obliged to plunder territories in his own empire. As he was plundering the Temple of Jupiter in Elymias, eastward in his realm, he and his attendants were killed by the locals. 12 / 25

13 Daniel 11:20 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. His son Seleucus Philopator came to the throne, and he exacted taxes to raise the tribute owed Rome. In a famous episode in the history of Israel, he sent his tax collector Heliodorus into Judea, the glory of the kingdom, to seize the money he heard was deposited in the temple at Jerusalem, but he was beaten by an angel as he began the plunder (2 Maccabees 3). Within a few years Philopator would be shattered, though neither in anger nor in battle. This describes something other than a natural death, yet not on the battlefield, nor by an act of passion. In fact Philopator was killed by Heliodorus in a palace coup. Daniel 11:21 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. Heliodorus, however, did not receive the kingdom, which thereafter was taken neither by the conspirators nor by Philopator s heirs, but obtained peaceably... by flatteries by his brother Antiochus Epiphanes, a vile person who received the power, but never the honor, of the kingdom. The foregoing application is so precise, so fitting to the circumstances, that it is acknowledged even by critics. It may seem complex as one wades through the detail, but actually it is reasonably straight-forward. Ptolemy Soter is clearly intended in verse 5, and his successor Philadelphus clearly intended in verse 6, whose daughter Berenice was married to Antiochus Theus. Berenice s brother Ptolemy Eugertes is specified in verse 7, and his adversary Seleucus Callinicus in verse 8. Thereafter Callinicus sons appear in verse 10, and the exploits of the younger son, Magnus, are detailed in verses His successor Seleucus Philopator is given but one verse, and his successor Antiochus Epiphanes is introduced in verse 21. Each of the six generations of rulers, from the death of Alexander through to Antiochus Epiphanes, is carefully documented. From the Article - Divine Foreknowledge in the Book of Daniel. Daniel 11:22a Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; 13 / 25

14 Verse 22 introduces the brilliantly successful beginning of Antiochus Epiphanes' reign, as he took up anew the struggle with Ptolemaic Egypt. both it and a prince the ruler of the covenant will be destroyed. The Hebrew word translated prince here is usually translated leader or ruler. The event spoken of here is described by Josephus. [h] About that time, the old High Priest Onias III died. First the Antiochus appointed his brother Jason to the High Priesthood. However, Antiochus Epiphanes being displeased with him and bribed appointed his younger brother Menelaus in his place. The majority of the Jews refused to honor his appointment. Eventually when Epiphanes took Jerusalem, he abolished the observance of the covenant and tried to destroy all copies of scripture. He also killed off or destroyed the rightful heir to the office, the son of Onias, Onias IV. Daniel 11:23-28a After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. 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. 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. 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. 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. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, Epiphanes threw his intended victims off guard by offering them his friendship and alliance. Then he would maneuver for an advantageous position till he could catch them by surprise. So it was with Ptolemy VI (Philometor), who had ascended the throne in 181 B.C. at the age of six, after the death of his mother, Cleopatra. But after he assumed power, he determined to recapture the regions of Palestine and Phoenicia that had been lost to Antiochus Magnus. At first Ptolemy VII's invasion was successful, for he had challenged Antiochus with a large, well-equipped army. But eventually he encountered a serious reverse and became a prisoner of Antiochus Epiphanes. 14 / 25

15 The Egyptians gave up hope of regaining their king and appointed his young brother Physcon as king in his place. On learning this, Epiphanes craftily intervened on behalf of Ptolemy Philometor, his royal prisoner, and mounted an expeditionary force against Physcon's government in order to reestablish Philometor on his throne--as Antiochus's ally rather than his adversary. As the price of his help in expelling Physcon, Antiochus made a treaty of friendship and alliance with Philometor aimed at gaining a foothold in Egypt itself and ultimately uniting the two kingdoms under his own authority. The seriousness of this aim is attested by the issue of coinage (in the large and medium-sized bronzes, at least) that bore the same types as the corresponding Ptolemaic coinage (the head of Zeus on the front and the Ptolemaic eagle on the back) but with the legend King Antiochus, God Manifest rather than the usual Egyptian Ptolemy the King. Although these Egyptian-type coins were presumably used in the Seleucid territory rather than in Egypt itself, they at least hinted at his potential claims to the Ptolemaic domains. Actually, Antiochus had penetrated Egypt itself all the way to Memphis, which he captured, along with Philometor himself. Later on Antiochus's alliance with Philometor wore so thin that his reestablished protege decided to make peace with Ptolemy Physcon, his defeated brother, because he felt he needed his help in dislodging Antiochus's troops from the border fortress of Pelusium. With Physcon as his associate, Philometor was able to raise a considerable army to expel the Seleucid army. But as soon as Epiphanes learned of this development, he again marched against Egypt, intending to subdue it once and for all. But this effort was forestalled by the intervention of the Roman fleet, which had been hurriedly dispatched to Alexandria in response to the urgent request of the embattled Ptolemies. The aggressive Roman commander Popilius Laenas met Antiochus marshaling his hosts for a siege of Alexandria and informed him that the Roman government ordered him to quit Egypt immediately or face the consequences of war with Rome. Remembering what had happened to his father at Magnesia and recalling his years as a young hostage in Roman captivity, it did not take Antiochus very long to give way before this mandate--especially after Popilius drew a circle around him with his staff and ordered him to make his decision before he stepped outside it. The remaining verses predicting his eventual failure found their fulfillment in this humiliation that took place near Alexandria in 169 B.C. Quite clearly the end pertained to the permanent suspension of Antiochus's campaign to annex Egypt to his domains; it is explained by v.28: The king of the North will return to his own country [i.e., to his capital of Antioch] with great wealth [from plundering Physcon's army]. Daniel 11:28b but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. 15 / 25

16 This refers to Antiochus actions against the Jewish faith, and even the monotheistic Jewish population as a whole. It is here that the clash between Antiochus and the faith of Israel begins on a serious level. The original friction had arisen over the question of the high priesthood. Early in his reign Antiochus IV had been approached by a younger member of the high priestly family named Jason, who promised the king that if he would depose from office the current, legitimate high priest, Onias III, then he--jason--would pay the king a handsome bribe for this service. Antiochus was happy to accede to this request; Onias was removed and Jason installed in his place. But once the precedent of imperial interference had been set, still another brother, Menelaus, offered Antiochus a bribe still larger than Jason's if he would be installed in place of Jason. Antiochus had no scruples about supplanting one rascal by another, so long as he himself was enriched in the process. So in 172 B.C. Menelaus took Jason's place and set about selling some of the votive offerings and golden utensils of the temple to raise the cash necessary for the bribe. At this sacrilege the godly high priest Onias, though deposed, earnestly protested and so angered Menelaus that he had Onias killed. But this murder so angered the populace of Jerusalem that they became bitter against Menelaus and sent representatives to Antiochus himself to accuse Menelaus and his wicked brother Lysimachus. Antiochus did execute Andronicus, the agent of Menelaus who had murdered Onias. But a little later a courtier Menelaus had bribed persuaded Antiochus to act against the Jerusalemites. So instead of punishing Menelaus as he deserved, the king had the Jerusalem representatives put to death in Tyre, where the whole matter was being adjudicated (cf. 2 Maccabees 4:30-50). Later on (167 B.C.) Antiochus, following his bitter disappointment in Egypt, went and encamped near Jerusalem. He had a score to settle with Jason, who had taken the city in an effort to overthrow Menelaus. Acting on a false report that Antiochus had died in Egypt, Jason had organized a regiment of a thousand armed supporters for a coup d état. He massacred a large number of citizens and shut Menelaus up in the Jerusalem citadel. Hearing of this, Antiochus decided to suppress the Jewish religion altogether and to exact stern reprisal from those who had taken up arms against his government. So he marched into Jerusalem with overwhelming forces, released Menelaus, and conducted a massacre in which eighty thousand men, women, and children were put to the sword (2 Maccabees 5:11-14). Then he profaned the temple, accompanied by the despicable Menelaus, and robbed it of its golden vessels and other sacred objects (vv.15-21). The date of this desecration and pillage of Jerusalem was Dec. 16, 168 B.C a day of special significance, seeing that exactly four years later the patriot leader Judas Maccabaeus rededicated the temple to the worship of the Lord, having cleansed it from all its pagan defilements. This, then, was the fulfillment of the prediction of 11:28 regarding Antiochus's action taken against the holy covenant. This verse actually sums up the entire series of 16 / 25

17 measures taken by Antiochus in suppressing the religious liberties of Judah, from 172 to 168 B.C. Daniel 11:29-30 At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 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. The more exact chronology of Antiochus's later act of desecration is set forth in these verses. The outcome (v.29) was different this time because he was compelled by Popilius Laenas to withdraw from Egypt altogether. From the preceding discussion, it is evident that the followers of Menelaus, who made no protest as Antiochus removed the holy vessels from the Holy Place, are referred to here as those who forsake the holy covenant. Menelaus and his followers were willing to suppress all religious scruples rather than cross the will of the tyrant who had put them in power. Daniel 11:31 His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. [i] Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. In addition to the desecration already described, the abolition of the daily sacrifices to the Lord was made binding by the erection in the temple of the Lord of the abomination [GK H9199] that causes desolation. Apparently this was a statue of Jupiter or Zeus Olympius because 2 Maccabees 6:2 indicates that the temple itself was to be renamed the Temple of Zeus Olympius. Pagans invariably installed an image in the inner sanctuary of any temple dedicated to the worship of that deity. Even if the actual statue was not installed in the Jerusalem temple as early as Dec. 16 (25 Chislev), 168 B.C., an idolatrous altar was formally consecrated there at that time. Thus the same type of desecration overtook the second temple as befell the first temple in the evil days of Ahaz ( ) and Manasseh ( ; cf. 2 Kings 16:10-16; 21:3-5). Daniel 11:32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 17 / 25

18 Antiochus was a master in manipulating Jewish leaders who were divided in their loyalties, winning them over to his cause by glowing promises of preferment and reward. He already had as partisans for his cause a number of influential leaders in Jerusalem society and politics who were convinced of the expediency of a pro-hellenic policy. These were doubtless those who have violated the covenant --i.e., their covenant relation with the Lord. First Maccabees 1:11-15 describes how certain transgressors of the law gathered about them a party of collaborators who were ready to throw off their Jewish loyalties and commitment to the Lord in their zeal to be accepted and find approval with their Syrian-Greek overlords. The hope of Israel lay with committed believers who would risk their lives rather than betray their honor. A band of heroic patriots was stirred to action by a certain priest named Mattathias. He was the father of the valiant Maccabees: Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, each of whom later became prince of Israel during the victorious war of independence against the Seleucid government. These patriots, sparked by the zeal of the Hasidim movement, were the mainstay of the resistance that opposed the pro-seleucid Jewish compromisers as well as Antiochus and his successors. They fulfilled the prediction of v.32: The people who know their God will firmly resist him [i.e., Epiphanes]. Daniel 11:33 Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. During the persecution by Antiochus, the patriot leaders would preach to their fearful countrymen stirring messages of repentance and wholehearted commitment to the holy standards of the Law of Moses and of the prophets, who upheld their sanctity during the ensuing centuries. They would summon their people to trust in the promises and power of the Lord instead of bowing to the demands of the pagan tyrant. Thus those who are wise would engage in a ministry of education and evangelism among their own countrymen, urging them first to get back to God and to pattern their lives according to Scripture. Then they were to answer the call to arms and hazard their very lives for the liberation of their land from the yoke of their God-hating persecutor. Yet the patriot leaders would have to endure great hardships and danger, and many would lose their lives and property, as the tyrant's forces turned their swords against them. These predictions were fulfilled in 168 B.C., when the standard of revolt was raised by Mattathias, the leading priest in the city of Modein, located in the hills of Ephraim. After killing the officer of Antiochus who had come to enforce the new decree concerning idolatrous worship, Mattathias and his five sons (John Gaddis, Simon Thassi, Judas Maccabaeus, Eleazar Avaran, and Jonathan Apphus) led a guerrilla band that fled to the hills (1 Maccabees 2:23-28) and attracted many adherents from other cities in the Judean province. A large number of the original patriots died in their first engagement with the king's troops because they refused to fight in their own defense on the Sabbath, the day on which they were attacked (1 Maccabees 18 / 25

19 2:38). But revising their policy after this tragic slaughter, they decided to fight even on the Sabbath, if compelled to do so. Then they engaged in vigorous attacks on all their fellow Jews who had bowed to Antiochus's ordinance and forsaken their God. Not long afterward Mattathias died, entrusting the leadership of the Israelite forces to his own capable sons. Judas Maccabaeus (originally he alone received the title Hammer ) assumed the military leadership and gained a brilliant victory over the forces of Apollonius, whom he slew in battle. Judas's second triumph involved routing an even larger army under Seron. A third army of formidable proportions came down from Syria under Lysias, Antiochus's deputy, equipped with a fearsome elephant corps. Thanks to the heroism of Judas's brother Eleazar, who managed to plunge his sword into an elephant's chest before it fell on him and crushed him to death, even this mighty host was put to flight by the Maccabean military forces. So the Maccabees fulfilled the predictions (cf. Micah 4:12-13; Zechariah 9:13; 10:8-9). Daniel 11:34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Presumably the little help refers to the relatively small numbers of compatriots who joined the Maccabean troops after the early successes of the original guerrilla band. They saw how they kept on fighting with great courage against overwhelming odds, even though they soon lost Mattathias and many of their first leaders. And then, because one Seleucid army after another fell before their onslaught, the Maccabean troops were able to intimidate many of their fellow citizens who had previously held back from the conflict. Particularly when the Hasidim began to round up those who had collaborated with the Seleucids and put them to death (1 Maccabees 2:42) and Judas himself hunted out those in the various cities who had deserted Scriptural standards ( the lawless, as Maccabees calls them), goodly numbers of insincere followers attached themselves to the patriot cause, hoping to save their own skins. Such supporters, however, proved to be of more help to the enemy than to the cause of freedom when later invasions were launched against them by the successors of Antiochus Epiphanes after his death in 164. More about the Maccabees (also called the Hasmonean dynasty) Summarized from the Wikipedia article on Judas Maccabeus: 19 / 25

20 Judas was a priest and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire ( BC) and is acclaimed as one of the greatest warriors in Jewish history alongside Joshua, Gideon and David. Judas was the third son of Mattathias the Hasmonean, a Jewish priest from the village of Modin. In 167 BC Mattathias, together with his sons Judas, Eleazar, Simon, John, and Jonathan, started a revolt against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who since 175 BC had issued decrees that forbade Jewish religious practices. After Mattathias's death in 166 BC, Judas assumed leadership of the revolt in accordance with the deathbed disposition of his father. In the early days of the rebellion, Judas received the surname Maccabeus (meaning the hammer ), in recognition of his ferocity in battle. Mindful of the superiority of Seleucid forces during the first two years of the revolt, Judas' strategy was to avoid any engagement with their regular army, and to resort to guerrilla warfare, in order to give them a feeling of insecurity. The strategy enabled Judas to win a string of victories. As a result, recruits flocked to the Jewish cause. Shortly thereafter, Judas routed a bigger Seleucid army under the command of Seron near Beth-Horon, largely thanks to a good choice of battlefield. Then in the Battle of Emmaus, Judas proceeded to defeat the Seleucid forces led by generals Nicanor and Gorgias. This force was dispatched by Lysias, whom Antiochus left as viceroy after departing on a campaign against the Parthians. By a forced night march, Judas succeeded in eluding Gorgias, who had intended to attack and destroy the Jewish forces in their camp with his cavalry. While Gorgias was searching for him in the mountains, Judas made a surprise attack upon the Seleucid camp and defeated the Seleucid at the Battle of Emmaus. The Seleucid commander had no alternative but to withdraw to the coast. The defeat at Emmaus convinced Lysias that he must prepare for a serious and prolonged war. He accordingly assembled a new and larger army and marched with it on Judea from the south via Idumea. After several years of conflict Judas drove out his foes from Jerusalem, except for the garrison in the citadel of Acra. He purified the defiled Temple of Jerusalem and on the 25th of Kislev (December 14, 164 BC) restored the service in the Temple. The reconsecration of the Temple became a permanent Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, which continued even after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Hanukkah is still celebrated annually. The liberation of Jerusalem was the first step on the road to ultimate independence. Upon hearing the news that the Jewish communities in Gilead, Transjordan, and Galilee were under attack by neighboring Greek cities, Judas immediately went to their aid. Judas sent his brother, Simeon, to Galilee at the head of 3,000 men; Simeon proceeded to successfully fulfill his task, achieving numerous victories and transplanted a substantial portion of the Jewish settlements, including women and children, to Judea. He personally led the campaign in Transjordan, taking with him his brother Jonathan. After fierce fighting, he defeated the Transjordanian tribes and rescued the Jews concentrated in fortified towns in Gilead. The 20 / 25

21 Jewish population of the areas taken by the Maccabees was evacuated to Judea [3]. At the conclusion of the fighting in Transjordan, Judas turned against the Edomites in the south, captured and destroyed Hebron and Maresha [4]. He then marched on the coast of the Mediterranean, destroyed the altars and statues of the pagan gods in Ashdod, and returned to Judea with much spoils. Judas then laid siege to the Assyrian garrison at the Acra, the Seleucid citadel of Jerusalem. The besieged, who included not only Assyrians but also Hellenistic Jews, appealed for help to Lysias, who effectively became the regent of the young king Antiochus V Eupator after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes at the end of 164 BC during the Parthian campaign. Lysias together with Eupator set out for a new campaign in Judea. Lysias skirted Judea as he had done in his first campaign, entering it from the south, and besieged Beth-Zur. Judas raised the siege of the Acra and went to meet Lysias. In the Battle of Beth-zechariah, south of Bethlehem, the Seleucids achieved their first major victory over the Maccabees, and Judas was forced to withdraw to Jerusalem. Beth-Zur was compelled to surrender and Lysias reached Jerusalem, laying siege to the city. The defenders found themselves in a precarious situation because their provisions were exhausted, it being a sabbatical year during which the fields were left uncultivated. However, just as capitulation seemed imminent, Lysias and Eupator had to withdraw when Antiochus Epiphanes's commander-in-chief Philip, whom the late ruler appointed regent before his death, rebelled against Lysias and was about to enter Antioch and seize power. Lysias decided to propose a peaceful settlement, which was concluded at the end of 163 BC. The terms of peace were based on the restoration of religious freedom, the permission for the Jews to live in accordance with their own laws, and the official return of the Temple to the Jews. Lysias defeated Philip, only to be overthrown by Demetrius, the true heir to the Assyrian throne. Demetrius appointed Alcimus (Jakim), a Hellenist Jew, as high priest, a choice the Hasidim (Pietists) might have accepted since he was of priestly descent. When war against the external enemy came to an end, an internal struggle broke out between the party led by Judas and the Hellenist party. The influence of the Hellenizers all but collapsed in the wake of the Seleucid defeat. The Hellenizing High Priest Menelaus was removed from office and executed. His successor was another Hellenizer Alcimus. When Alcimus executed sixty priests who were opposed to him, he found himself in open conflict with the Maccabees. Alcimus fled from Jerusalem and went to the Seleucid king, asking for help. 21 / 25

22 Meanwhile, Demetrius I Soter, son of Seleucus IV Philopator and nephew of the late Antiochus IV Epiphanes, fled from Rome in defiance of the Roman Senate, arrived in Assyria, captured and killed Lysias and Antiochus Eupator, and usurped the throne. It was thus Demetrius to whom the delegation led by Alcimus, complained of the persecution of the Hellenist party in Judea. Demetrius granted Alcimus's request to be appointed High Priest under the protection of the king's army and sent to Judea an army led by Bacchides. The weaker Jewish army couldn't oppose the enemy and withdrew from Jerusalem, so Judas returned to wage Guerrilla warfare. Soon after, it was necessary for the Seleucid Army to return to Antioch because of the turbulent political situation. Judas' forces returned to Jerusalem and the Seleucids dispatched another army, again led by Nicanor. In a battle near Adasa, on the 13th Adar 161 BC, the Assyrian army was destroyed and Nicanor was killed. The annual "Day of Nicanor" was instituted to commemorate this victory. The Roman-Jewish Treaty was an agreement made between Judas Maccabee and the Roman Republic in 161 BC according to 1 Maccabees and Josephus. It was the first recorded contact between the Jewish people and the Romans. The agreement with Rome failed to have any effect on Demetrius' policy. On receipt of the news of Nicanor's defeat, he dispatched a new army, again commanded by Bacchides. This time the Assyrian forces of 20,000 men were numerically so superior that most of Judas's men left the field of battle and advised their leader to do likewise and to await a more favorable opportunity. However, Judas decided to stand his ground. In the Battle of Elasa, Judas and those who remained faithful to him were killed. His body was taken by his brothers from the battlefield and buried in the family sepulchre at Modiin. The death of Judas Maccabee (d. 160 BC) stirred the Jews to renewed resistance. After several additional years of war under the leadership of two of Mattathias' other sons (Jonathan and Simon), the Jews finally achieved independence and the liberty to worship freely. Summarized from the Wikipedia article on the Hasmonean dynasty: The Hasmonean dynasty Hebrew: חשמונאים Hashmonayim, was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BC, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea. From 110 BC, with the 22 / 25

23 Seleucid empire disintegrating, the dynasty became fully independent, expanded in to the neighbouring regions of Galilee, Iturea, Perea, Idumea and Samaria, and took the title "basileus". Some modern scholars refer to this period as an independent kingdom of Israel [2]. In 63 BC, the kingdom was conquered by the Roman Republic, broken up and set up as a Roman client state. The Kingdom had survived for 103 years before yielding to the Herodian Dynasty in 37 BC. Even then, Herod the Great tried to bolster the legitimacy of his reign by marrying a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne, and planning to drown the last male Hasmonean heir at his Jericho palace. The dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judas the Maccabee ("Hammer") defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt. According to historical sources, including 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees and the first book of The Wars of the Jews by Jewish historian Josephus (37 c. 100 CE), [3] after Antiochus IV's successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic, [4] [5] Antiochus instead moved to assert strict control over Israel, sacking Jerusalem and its Temple, suppressing Jewish religious and cultural observances, and imposing Hellenistic practices. The ensuing revolt by the Jews (167 BC) began a twenty-five-year period of Jewish independence potentiated by the steady collapse of the Seleucid Empire under attacks from the rising powers of the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire. However, the same power vacuum that enabled the Jewish state to be recognized by the Roman Senate c. 139 BC was later exploited by the Romans themselves. Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Simon's great-grandsons, became pawns in a proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The deaths of Pompey (48 BC), Caesar (44 BC), and the related Roman civil wars temporarily relaxed Rome's grip on Israel, allowing a very brief Hasmonean resurgence backed by the Parthian Empire. This short independence was rapidly crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Octavian. The installation of Herod the Great (an Idumean) as king in 37 BC made Israel a Roman client state and marked the end of the Hasmonean dynasty. In 6 CE, Rome joined Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea (biblical Edom) into the Roman province of Iudaea. In 44 BC, Rome installed the rule of a Roman procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings (specifically Agrippa I and Agrippa II ). 23 / 25

24 [a] The preposition here is ל {le} which can mean toward, but can also mean by means of. I think this is the meaning here as the four winds seem to speak of the LORD s control over history. [b] The following list of kings, and the length of their reigns, will be useful as we proceed through the narrative. These six generations of rulers are all that are referred to in the prophetic narrative. (The last four entries under Syria are two pairs of brothers.) [c] Gill s Commentary. [d] This is the translation of the KJV and NASB. This is no doubt because the verb here is in the 3 rd Person, Masculine, and Singular. [e] Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, Book XII, Chapter 2, Paragraph 2. [f] Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, Book XII, Chapter 2, Paragraph 3. [g] Not the Cleopatra who dallied with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony over a hundred years later. [h] Antiquities, Book XII, Chapter 5, Paragraph 1. [i] This refers to the halt of the sacrifice already prophesied in Daniel 8: / 25

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