Prophecy concerning Persia and Greece 1 And from the first year of Darius, the Mede, I stood up, that he might be strengthened, and confirmed. 2 And now I will show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly above them all: and when he shall be grown mighty by his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 But there shall rise up a strong king, and shall rule with great power: and he shall do what he pleases. 4 And when he shall come to his height, his kingdom shall be broken, and it shall be divided towards the four winds of the heaven: but not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his kingdom shall be rent in pieces, even for strangers, besides these.
Prophecy concerning Egypt and Syria 5 And the king of the south shall be strengthened, and one of his princes shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power: for his dominions shall be great. 6 And after the end of years they shall be in league together: and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the strength of the arm, neither shall her seed stand: and she shall be given up, and her young men that brought her, and they that strengthened her in these times. 7 And a plant of the bud of her roots shall stand up: and he shall come with an army, and shall enter into the province of the king of the north: and he shall abuse them, and shall prevail. 8 And he shall also carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and their graven things, and their precious vessels of gold and silver: he shall prevail against the king of the north. 9 And the king of the south shall enter into the kingdom, and shall return to his own land.
Warefare between Syria and Egypt 10 And his sons shall be provoked, and they shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and he shall come with haste like a flood: and he shall return, and be stirred up, and he shall join battle with his force. 11 And the king of the south being provoked, shall go forth, and shall fight against the king of the north, and shall prepare an exceeding great multitude, and a multitude shall be given into his hands. 12 And he shall take a multitude, and his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down many thousands: but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall prepare a multitude much greater than before: and in the end of times, and years, he shall come in haste with a great army, and much riches. 14 And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south, and the children of prevaricators of your people shall lift up themselves to fulfil the vision, and they shall fall. 15 And the king of the north shall come, and shall cast up a mount, and shall take the best fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they shall not have strength. 16 And he shall come upon him, and do according to his pleasure, and there shall be none to stand against his face: and he shall stand in the glorious land, and it shall be consumed by his hand. 17 And he shall set his face to come to possess all his kingdom, and he shall make upright conditions with him: and he shall give him a daughter of women, to overthrow it: and she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him. 18 And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many: and he shall cause the prince of his reproach to cease, and his reproach shall be turned upon him. 19 And he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he shall stumble, and fall, and shall not be found. 20 And there shall stand up in his place one most vile, and unworthy of kingly honour: and in a few days he shall be destroyed, not in rage nor in battle. 21 And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the kingly honour shall not be given him: and he shall come privately, and shall obtain the kingdom by fraud. 22 And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after friendships, he will deal deceitfully with him: and he shall go up, and shall overcome with a small people.
The prophetic discourse abruptly shifts from Seleucus to the end of the world 24 And he shall enter into rich and plentiful cities: and he shall do that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and shall forecast devices against the best fenced places: and this until a time. 25 And his strength, and his heart, shall be stirred up against the king of the south, with a great army: and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with many and very strong succours: and they shall not stand, for they shall form designs against him. 26 And they that eat bread with him, shall destroy him, and his army shall be overthrown: and many shall fall down slain. 27 And the heart of the two kings shall be to do evil, and they shall speak lies at one table, and they shall not prosper: because as yet the end is unto another time. 28 And he shall return into his land with much riches: and his heart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall succeed, and shall return into his own land. 29 At the time appointed he shall return, and he shall come to the south, but the latter time shall not be like the former. 30 And the galleys and the Romans shall come upon him, and he shall be struck, and shall return, and shall have indignation against the covenant of the sanctuary, and he shall succeed: and he shall return, and shall devise against them that have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.
The abomination of desolation and the Antichrist
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice: and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation. 32 And such as deal wickedly against the covenant shall deceitfully dissemble: but the people that know their God shall prevail and succeed. 33 And they that are learned among the people shall teach many: and they shall fall by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by spoil for many days. 34 And when they shall have fallen, they shall be relieved with a small help: and many shall be joined to them deceitfully. 35 And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be tried, and may be chosen, and made white, even to the appointed time: because yet there shall be another time.
The Antichrist lifts himself up as God
36 And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be lifted up, and shall magnify himself against every god: and he shall speak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the wrath be accomplished. For the determination is made. 37 And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers: and he shall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods: for he shall rise up against all things. 38 But he shall worship the god Maozim, in his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not, he shall worship with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and things of great price. 39 And he shall do this to fortify Maozim with a strange god, whom he has acknowledged, and he shall increase glory, and shall give them power over many, and shall divide the land gratis.
Antichrist invades Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia
40 And at the time prefixed the king of the south shall fight against him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and he shall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through. 41 And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall: and these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon. 42 And he shall lay his hand upon the lands: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through Libya, and Ethiopia. 44 And tidings out of the east, and out of the north, shall trouble him: and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many. 45 And he shall fix his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon a glorious and holy mountain: and he shall come even to the top thereof, and none shall help him.
Commentary on Daniel 11
11:2 Three kings: Cambyses, Smerdes Magus, and Darius, the son of Hystaspes. The fourth: Xerxes. (Challoner)
11:3 A strong king: Alexander. (Challoner)
11:5 The king of the south: Ptolemeus the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, which lies south of Jerusalem. One of his princes: that is, one of Alexander's princes, shall prevail over him: that is, shall be stronger than the king of Egypt. He speaks of Seleucus Nicator, king of Asia and Syria, whose successors are here called the kings of the north, because their dominions lay to the north in respect to Jerusalem. (Challoner)
11:6 The daughter of the king of the south: Berenice, daughter of Ptolemeus Philadelphus, given in marriage to Antiochus Theos, grandson of Seleucus. (Challoner)
11:7 A plant: Ptolemeus Evergetes, the son of Philadelphus. (Challoner)
11:8 The king of the north: Seleucus Callinicus. (Challoner)
11:10 His sons: Seleucus Ceraunius, and Antiochus the Great, the sons of Callinicus. He shall come: Antiochus the Great. (Challoner)
11:11 The king of the south: Ptolemeus Philopator, son of Evergetes. (Challoner)
11:16 He shall come upon him: Antiochus shall come upon the king of the south. The glorious land... Judea. (Challoner)
11:17 All his kingdom: all the kingdom of Ptolemeus Epiphanes, son of Philopator. A daughter of women: That is, a most beautiful woman, viz., his daughter Cleopatra. To overthrow it: the kingdom of Epiphanes: but his policy shall not succeed; for Cleopatra shall take more to heart the interest of her husband, than that of her father. (Challoner)
11:18 The prince of his reproach: Scipio the Roman general, called the prince of his reproach, because he overthrew Antiochus, and obliged him to submit to very dishonourable terms, before he would cease from the war. (Challoner)
11:20 One most vile: Seleucus Philopator, who sent Heliodorus to plunder the temple: and was shortly after slain by the same Heliodorus. (Challoner)
11:21 One despised: Antiochus Epiphanes, who at first was despised and not received for king. What is here said of this prince, is accommodated by St. Jerome and others to Antichrist; of whom this Antiochus was a figure. (Challoner) |
11:22 Of the fighter: That is, of them that shall oppose him, and shall fight against him. The prince of the covenant: or, of the league. The chief of them that conspired against him: or the king of Egypt his most powerful adversary. (Challoner)
11:24 Those of our persuasion believe all these things are spoken prophetically of the Antichrist who is to arise in the end time. But this factor appears to others as a difficulty for our view, namely the question as to why the prophetic discourse should abruptly cease mention of these great kings and shift from Seleucus to the end of the world. The answer is that in verse 11:2 the historical account where mention was made of the Persian kings, only four kings of Persia were presented, following after Cyrus, and many who came in between were simply skipped over, so as to come quickly to Alexander, king of the Macedonians. We hold that it is the practice of Scripture not to relate all details completely, but only to set forth what seems of major importance. Those of our school insist also that since many of the details which we are subsequently to read and explain are appropriate to the person of Antiochus, he is to be regarded as a type of the Antichrist, and those things which happened to him in a preliminary way are to be completely fulfilled in the case of the Antichrist. We hold that it is the habit of Holy Scripture to set forth by means of types the reality of things to come, in conformity with what is said of our Lord and Savior in the 72nd Psalm, a psalm which is noted at the beginning as being Solomon's, and yet not all the statements which are made concerning can be applied to Solomon. For certainly he neither endured "together with the sun and before the moon from generation to generation," nor did he hold sway from sea to sea, or from the River unto the ends of the earth; neither did all the nations serve him, nor did his name endure before the sun; neither were all the tribes of earth blessed in him, nor did all races magnify him. But in a partial way these things were set forth in advance, by shadows as it were, and by a mere symbol of the reality, in the person of Solomon, in order that they might be more perfectly fulfilled in our Lord and Savior. And so, just as the Savior had Solomon and the other saints as types of His advent, so also we should believe that the Antichrist very properly had as a type of himself the utterly wicked king, Antiochus, who persecuted the saints and defiled the Temple. (St. Jerome)
11:25 This applies to the Antichrist, for he is to be born of the Jewish people and come from Babylon, and is first of all going to vanquish the king of Egypt, who is one of the three horns of which we have already spoken earlier. (St. Jerome)
11:27-30 All these things refer to the Antichrist and to the king of Egypt whom he has for the first time overcome. (St. Jerome) |
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11:31 They shall place there the abomination, etc: The idol of Jupiter Olympius, which Antiochus ordered to be set up in the sanctuary of the temple: which is here called the sanctuary of strength, from the Almighty that was worshipped there. (Challoner) But we on our side contend that all these things took place in a preliminary way as a mere type of the Antichrist, who is destined to seat himself in the Temple of God, and make himself out to be as God. (St. Jerome)
11:32 But in my opinion this will take place in the time of the Antichrist, when the love of many shall wax cold. It is concerning these people that our Lord says in the Gospel, "Dost thou think that the Son of man, when He comes, will find faith upon the earth?" Luke 18:8. (St. Jerome)
11:33 But let no one doubt that these things are going to happen under the Antichrist, when many shall resist his authority and flee away in various directions. (St. Jerome)
11:34-35 Our writers would have it understood that the small help shall arise under the reign of the Antichrist, for the saints shall gather together to resist him, and afterwards a great number of the learned shall fall. And this shall take place in order that they may be refined as by fire in the furnace, and that they may be made white and may be chosen out, until the time before determined arrives ---- for the true victory shall be won at the coming of Christ. (St. Jerome)
11:36 The Antichrist will enjoy success, but not finally, until the wrath is fulfilled, that is, until he inflames divine wrath and brings it on himself. (Theodoret of Cyrus)
11:37 In a similar way St. Paul says, "who is an adversary to, and who is lifted up above, all that is called god or that is worshipped, so much so that he sits in the temple of God, presenting himself as if he were God 2Thess 2:4." who is an adversary to CHRYS For he will not introduce idolatry, but will be a kind of opponent to God. and who is lifted up above, all that is called god or that is worshipped THEODORE From this it shows that the Antichrist will overturn idolatry, which the Devil introduced, and he will put an end to every sect which opposes the word of truth; ISHODAD because he will turn all men to worship him, as if to say he is the Christ, and to him worship is due from all creatures. (Litteral's Bible Catena)
11:38 The god Maozim: That is, the god of forces or strong holds. (Challoner) |
11:39 The Antichrist likewise is going to make lavish bestowal of many rewards upon those whom he has deceived, and will divide up the land to his soldiery. And those whom he will not be able to subject to himself by fear he will subject through their cupidity. (St. Jerome)
11:40-41 This refers to the Antichrist, asserting that he shall first fight against the king of the South, or Egypt, and shall afterwards conquer Libya and Ethiopia, for these constitute the three broken horns about which we read previously. And then he shall come to the land of Israel, and many cities or provinces shall be given into his hands. Edom, Moab... The Antichrist also is going to leave Idumaea, Moab, and the children of Ammon (i.e., Arabia) untouched, for the saints are to flee thither to the deserts. (St. Jerome)
11:44-45 Those of our party, on the other hand, explain the final chapter of this vision as relating to the Antichrist, and stating that during his war against the Egyptians, Libyans, and Ethiopians, in which he shall smash three of the ten horns, he is going to hear that war has been stirred up against him in the regions of the North and East. Then he shall come with a great host to crush and slay many people, and shall pitch his tent in Apedno near Nicopolis, which was formerly called Emmaus, at the beginning of the mountainous region in the province of Judaea. Finally he shall make his way thence to go up to the Mount of Olives and ascend to the area of Jerusalem; and this is what the Scripture means here: "And when he has pitched his tent...." at the foothills of the mountainous province between two seas. These are, of course, that which is now called the Dead Sea on the east, and the Great Sea on the shore of which lie Caesarea, Joppa, Ashkelon, and Gazae. Then he shall come up to the summit thereof, that is of the mountainous province, or the apex of the Mount of Olives, which of course is called famous because our Lord and Savior ascended from it to the Father. And no one shall be able to assist the Antichrist as the Lord vents his fury upon him. Our school of thought insists that Antichrist is going to perish in that spot from which the Lord ascended to heaven. Apedno is a compound word, which upon analysis yields the meaning of "his throne" (the Greek thronou autou). And the meaning is that he shall pitch his tent and his throne between the seas upon the famous, holy mountain. (St. Jerome) |
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