Daniel
Chapter 11 (Continued)
17a~~He
{Antiochus III (the Great)}
shall
also set his face
to
enter with the strength of his whole kingdom,
{he is at his peak and intends to go into
Asia-Minor to gain back
part of his empire he lost through revolt}
and
upright ones with him;
{some Jews agree to fight with Antiochus}
thus
shall he do.
17b~~And
he shall give him {Ptolemy V}
the
'daughter of women',
{a lady named Cleopatra (not the most famous one)}
corrupting
her.
{Antiochus was using her to control Egypt -
but she foiled his plan}
{Note:
Antiochus had a 16 year old beautiful daughter named Cleopatra that
he gave in marriage to the 9 year old Ptolemy V. He thought that
would prevent Egypt from coming against him. But it turns out she
loved Ptolemy and advised him to stay neutral when the Seleucids and
the Romans began to fight. She was raised by her mother and
grandmother while Antiochus the Great was away at war. So she is
referred to as the daughter of women. It was her counsel that helped
gain Ptolemy V the title of Ptolemy Epiphany - the Magnificant.}
17c~~But
she {Cleopatra}
shall
not stand
on
his {her father Antiochus the Great's} side . . .
neither
be for him.
{convinces Ptolemy to remain neutral}
18~~After
this {197 BC}
shall
he {Antiochus the Great}
turn
his face unto the isles,
{islands along Asia-Minor}
and
shall take many.
But
a prince
{the Romans - Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus}
for
his own behalf
shall
cause the pressure/reproach
offered
by him to cease;
{at the battle of Magnesia}.
Without
his own pressure/reproach . . .
He
{Scipio} shall cause it
{it is the pressure of Rome}
to
turn upon him.
{Seleucid empire is reduced
to a Hellenistic Monarchy again}
{Note:
This accelerated the movement of the Romans advancement in this part
of the world.}
19a~~Then
he shall turn his face
toward
the fort of his own land.
{Antiochus returns to Antioch - losing a lot
of land and most of his wealth to the Romans}
19b~~But
he shall stumble and fall,
and
not be found.
20~~Then
shall stand up in his estate
a
raiser of taxes
{Antiochus's son Seleucus IV raises
huge taxes to obtain wealth after his
father is murdered while looting a temple
for money}
in
the glory of the kingdom.
{the Seleucids still rule Syria, Palestine,
Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and part of Iran}
But
within few days he shall be destroyed,
neither
in anger, nor in battle.
{Verses
21-35: Antiochus Epiphany}
21~~
And in his estate
{the king of the north - the Seleucids - still a strong
nation but not an empire because of Rome}
shall
stand up a vile person,
{Antiochus Epiphany - the Magnificent (madman)
the younger brother of Antiochus the Great and
successor of his older brother Seleucus IV}
to
whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom:
but
he shall come in peaceably,
and
obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
{Note:
Antiochus Epiphany was the younger brother of Antiochus the Great.
He was now the general of an army stationed in Athens. With the help
of a Pergamum army, he takes over the Seleucid Nation. Antiochus the
Great's son Demetrius was a captive in Rome so there was a fight for
the throne and Epiphany won. He is the one who will sacrifice
thousands of pigs in the temple in Jerusalem and the Jews complained.
So, he sacrificed thousands of their sons also. This lead to the
Maccabean revolt - the victory of the Jews is why they celebrate
Hanukah. Antiochus Epiphany is the brother of Cleopatra. Her sons
will come to rule in Egypt and they will war with their uncle AE.}
22~~And
with the arms of a flood
{referring to Antiochus Epiphany taking control -
Palestine is still the frontier/buffer state between
the Seleucids and their relatives in Egypt}
shall
they {the Egyptians}
shall
be overflown from before him,
and
shall be broken.
{decisive defeat in battle}
Yes,
also the prince of the covenant.
{Ptolemy VI the nephew of Antiochus Epiphany
leads Egypt and is the loser}
23~~And
after the league made with him
{after the capture of Ptolemy VI, the people
of Alexandria appointed his younger brother
Ptolemy VII (aka Physcon which means bloated
he was a bit deformed and appeared bloated)}
he
{Antiochus Epiphany} shall work deceitfully . . .
{in 169 BC Epiphany leaves Ptolemy VI in Memphis
as the ruler with a garrison to protect him; Ptolemy VII
rules in Alexandria - busy working behind the scenes
to start a civil war}
for
he shall come up,
{in one year Epiphany invades Egypt again}
and
shall become strong with a small {well trained} army.
24~~He
{Antiochus Epiphany}
shall
enter peaceably even upon
the
'most fertile'/fattest places of the province;
and
he shall do that which his fathers have not done,
{the Seleucids never succeeded in taking Egypt
so Antiochus Epiphany is the first to do so}
nor
his fathers' fathers.
He
shall scatter among them the prey,
and
spoil, and riches.
{he splits the spoils with his army}
Yes,
and he shall forecast his devices . . .
instead
of assaulting the strong holds,
even
for a time.
{means he will use diplomacy to do the
rest of the conquering - he stopped using
his military and his advance stalled out -
diplomacy never works.}
25a~~And
he {Antiochus Epiphany}
shall
stir up his power
and
his courage
against
the king of the south {Ptolemy VI}
with
a great army.
{Note:
Diplomacy fails and the Ptolemy brothers figure out what Uncle
Epiphany is doing and they unite against him. Epi has to return to
Egypt with an even larger army and conquer it all over again.}
25b~~And
the king of the south
shall
be stirred up to battle
with
a very great and mighty army;
but
he shall not stand . . .
for
they shall forecast devices against him.
{Note:
Rome came forward and ordered Antiochus Epiphany to not advance on
Alexandria. So he retreated to make sure Rome stays out of
Alexandria. So, now the Ptolemy's try to get Palestine back. And,
both an Egyptian party and Seleucid party grow up in Palestine.}
26~~Yes,
they that feed of the portion of his meat
{the Egyptians supplied rations to Antiochus Epiphany's army}
shall
destroy him,
{they cut off his supply line so they have to retreat}
and
his army shall overflow.
{and his men are starving and harassed in the retreat
and many will die}
And
many shall fall down slain.
27~~And
both these kings' hearts
{idiom for 'where they think'}
shall
be to practice evil,
{the co-regency in Egypt - both Ptolemy VI and VII will
rule for the next few years - 168 to 165 BC}
and
they shall speak lies at one table;
{both go to the Roman Senate and try to gain control
over the other brother - Romans have an arbitration
and both sides lie and gives Cyprus to the younger
brother to appease his claims}
but
it shall not prosper . . .
{the division made by the Roman Senate only intensified
the antagonism between the brothers}
for
yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
{both brothers will continue to fight until the frustration
of Rome and Antiochus and the Egyptians will
generate great unrest}
{Now
on to the Frustration of Antiochus Epiphany}
28~~Then
shall he {Antiochus Epiphany}
return
into his land with great riches;
{he robbed and pillaged all the way back out of Egypt}
and
his heart shall be against the holy covenant;
{going through Jerusalem, he hears the gospel and
rejects it over and over again - he will try to make the
Jews Hellenistic - so he sets up an idol in the temple
and sacrifices pigs there as the Greeks would do}
and
he has done exploits,
and
return to his own land.
{Rehash
with Details}
29~~At
the time appointed he shall return,
and
come toward the south;
{Antiochus Epiphany will make a second expedition
toward the king of the south - Ptolemy called Philometor
(means lover of his mother) }
but
it shall not be as the former,
or
as the latter.
{Note:
Means this time he is not as successful.}
30a~~For
the ships of Chittim
{Chittim is Cyprus so this is referring to Rome
sending ONE Roman officer by its navy - Popillius}
shall
come against him.
{Note:
Rome sent one officer who told Antiochus if he attacks Alexandria,
Rome will settle the matter. Antiochus knows it is not a bluff and he
can not fight Rome so he retires.}
30b~~Therefore
he shall be grieved, and return,
and
have indignation against the holy covenant.
{Note:
The 'holy covenant' has to do with the presentation of the Gospel.
Antiochus is a follower of the Greek religious system and now is
introduced to Jehovah - the God of the Jews. He will be extremely
negative and build scar tissue on his soul. He will become very
antagonistic toward God, His Temple and His Word. This is the year
167 BC.}
30c~~So
shall he do;
he
shall even return,
and
will suppress them
and
have friendship with those
who
forsake the holy covenant.
{Note:
Antiochus Epiphany will try to Hellenize the Jews. He will order the
murder of all Jews who come to the Temple on the Sabbath. He kills
thousands and then enslaves many others. He then will put an idol of
'Zeus/Jupiter/Baal in the Holy of Holies (it is really a likeness of
himself with a beard). The Jews who complain are murdered. Then he
covers the Temple with pig's blood and the blood of the Jews who
complain. So, some Jews will choose life under idolatry instead of
resisting ('better Hellenistic then dead attitude'). But it will lead
to the Maccabean Wars.}
31~~And
arms shall stand on his part,
{on the Temple hill a fortification will be built
and put a Greek division there}
and
they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength,
{slaughter of the Jews and the blood of them
and pigs cover the temple}
and
shall take away the daily sacrifice,
{they kill anyone who continues to follow Jehovah -
this happens on December 25, 167 BC}
and
they
{military command of Antiochus under the
command of Ab-a-loan-ious (sp)}
shall
place the abomination that makes desolate.
{the abomination of desolation (idol) is set up in the Holy
of Holies}
{Verse
32: The Jewish Division
(Here those Against God VS those For God)}
32a~~And
such
{Jews in apostasy that turn 'Hellenistic'}
as
do wickedly against the covenant
shall
he corrupt by flatteries.
32b~~But
the people that do know their 'Elohiym/God
shall
be strong, and do exploits.
{Note:
Now you have the group faithful to God. They know their doctrine and
know it is better to die defending their faith then to live outside
of the love of God and His Word.}
{Verses
33-35: The Maccabean Revolt}
33a~~And
those who 'are caused to know and apply doctrine'
{sakal - hiphil causative stem}
among
the people {Jews}
shall
keep on instructing {biyn}
the
many.
{on the spiritual side, they teach doctrine -
on the physical side, they teach military techniques -
they are caused to understand the issue before they
fought for it}
{Note:
The ones in the know - know doctrine. And, here they know there is
only one True choice - FIGHT for liberty. Fight for the right to
worship the One True God! In the town of Modi'in, an elderly priest
named Mattathias - from the house of Hasmone (who will rule many
years) refused Antiochus's Syrian order to sacrifice to an idol. When
an apostate cowardly Jew stepped forward to comply, Mattathias killed
the man and tore down the altar and killed the Greek garrison. Then
he and his five sons took to the hills and launched a guerrilla war
against the armies of the empire.
When
Mattathias died, his third son, Judas Maccabee, took command. He and
his band of fighters were impossibly outnumbered, yet they won one
miraculous victory after another. In 164 BC, they recaptured the
desecrated Temple, which they cleansed and purified and rededicated
to God. On the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, the menorah --
the candelabra symbolizing the divine presence -- was rekindled.}
33b~~Yet
they shall fall
by
the sword,
{many believers in the Maccabeen Revolt die before the
war for freedom is won in 164 BC}
and
by flame,
{the Seleucids would roast Jewish prisoners over fire for fun}
by
captivity,
{Seleucids enslave many Jews}
and
by spoil . . .
{Seleucids take much wealth in this campaign}
many
days.
{Note: In 164BC, the Seleucids put peace terms on the table and the Jews accept. In 161 BC, under Demetrius (who is no longer a hostage in Rome) marches on the Jews again. This time Judas Maccabee himself will die and his brother Jonathan takes over. He is a good warrior but not a genius like Judas. He will fight for 20 years. Then he dies in battle and his brother Simon will finally win true peace for the Jews in 142 BC. They will then have peace for over 100 years.}
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