Daniel 11:21 - Meaning and Application

All of this is a prophecy about the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, the “little horn” mentioned earlier (Dan 8:9). He was a fierce enemy of the Jewish faith and a bitter persecutor of those who stayed faithful to it. The troubles the Jews faced under the Persian kings were not described to Daniel in such detail, because at that time Haggai and Zechariah were still alive to encourage God’s people. But these later troubles under Antiochus were foretold because, by then, prophecy would stop, and God’s people would need to rely on the written word.

Some parts of this prediction about Antiochus also point ahead to the New Testament picture of antichrist, especially (Dan 11:36) and (Dan 11:37). As the prophets often did, when they spoke of the church’s good times, they sometimes used language that fit the kingdom of Christ and then moved naturally into a prophecy about it. In the same way, when they spoke of the church’s troubles, they used words that also looked ahead to the rise and fall of antichrist.

The angel first describes Antiochus’s character: “He shall be a vile person.” He called himself Epiphanes, which means “illustrious,” but his life was the opposite of that title. Ancient writers describe him as strange in temper, rude, loud, shameful, and mean. At times he would slip out of the palace and mix with any disgraceful crowd, even traveling in disguise among ordinary people and the worst strangers in the city. He had such odd moods and behavior that some people thought he was foolish, and others thought he was insane, which is why he was also called Epimanes, “the madman.”

He is called a vile person partly because he had spent a long time at Rome as a hostage, held there to guarantee his father’s loyalty after the Romans defeated him. It had been agreed that when the other hostages were exchanged, Antiochus would remain a prisoner at large. By deceit, he got his older brother’s son, Demetrius, sent to Rome in his place, which was against the agreement. Then, when his older brother had been put out of the way by Heliodorus (Dan 11:20), he seized the kingdom.

The nobles of Syria did not give him the throne (Dan 11:21), because they knew it belonged to his brother’s son. He did not gain it by open war either, but came in quietly, pretending to rule on behalf of Demetrius, who was then a hostage in Rome. With help from Eumenes and Attalus, nearby rulers, he won support among the people and used flattery to secure the kingdom. He then destroyed Heliodorus, who opposed him with strong force, “like a flood.” Those who stood against him were swept away and broken before him, including the “prince of the covenant,” his nephew, the rightful heir, whom he falsely promised to support until he returned (Dan 11:22).

After making an alliance with him, Antiochus would “work deceitfully” (Dan 11:23). He acted on the belief that princes should not keep their word any longer than it served their own advantage. With only a small group at first, he grew strong. He entered the richest parts of Syria in peace, and unlike earlier rulers, he scattered spoils and wealth among the people to win their loyalty. At the same time, he planned how to seize the strongholds and make himself master of them. His generosity lasted only for a while. Once the garrisons were under his control, he stopped giving away riches and ruled by force, as rulers often do when they first come in by trickery. A man who comes in like a fox often rules like a lion.

Some understand these verses as describing his first trip to Egypt, when he came not as an enemy but as a friend and protector of the young king Ptolemy Philometer. Because of that, he brought only a few followers, though they were brave men loyal to his cause. He placed them in several strongholds in Egypt and made himself master of them.

The next part describes his war with Egypt, his second campaign there (Dan 11:25, Dan 11:27). Antiochus would stir up his power and courage against Ptolemy Philometer, king of Egypt. Ptolemy would then be moved to battle and come against him with a very large and powerful army, but he would not be able to stand before him. Antiochus’s army would defeat and overwhelm his, and many Egyptian soldiers would fall dead.

This was no surprise, because the king of Egypt would be betrayed by his own advisers. Those who ate his food and depended on him would, after being bribed by Antiochus, scheme against him and even help destroy him. What protection is there against such betrayal? After the battle, they would arrange a peace treaty, and the two kings would meet in council to settle its terms. But neither side would be sincere. In their promises and claims of friendship, they would lie to each other, while each still planned to harm the other as much as possible. So it is no wonder the peace would fail. It would last only until the time appointed by God’s providence, and then war would break out again, like a wound that has only been covered over.

Another campaign against Egypt follows. Antiochus returned from the earlier conflict with great riches (Dan 11:28), and so he took the first chance to invade Egypt again at the time God had appointed, two years later, in the eighth year of his reign (Dan 11:29). He would come toward the south, but this attempt would fail. He would not succeed as he had before, because the “ships of Chittim” would come against him, meaning the Roman navy, or possibly only envoys from the Roman Senate who came by ship.

Ptolemy Philometer, king of Egypt, was now closely allied with the Romans and asked them for help against Antiochus, who had besieged him and his mother Cleopatra in Alexandria. The Roman Senate sent ambassadors to Antiochus and ordered him to lift the siege. When he asked for time to think and consult his friends, Popilius, one of the ambassadors, drew a circle around him with his staff and told him that he must give a clear answer before stepping out of it. Fearing Roman power, Antiochus had to order the siege lifted and pull his army back out of Egypt. Livy and others tell this story, and this prophecy points to it. He would be grieved and turn back, because it was a great insult to be forced to give way like that.

Then comes his rage and cruel actions against the Jews.

This is the part of his rule, or rather his bad rule, that the prophecy dwells on most. When he returned from his campaign in Egypt, which is foretold in Daniel 11:28, he attacked the Jews in the sixth year of his reign and plundered the city and temple. But the worst trouble came on his later return from Egypt, two years after that, as foretold in Daniel 11:30. On that journey home, he passed through Judea and, since the Romans had blocked his plans in Egypt, he took out his anger on the helpless Jews. They had done nothing to provoke him, but they had greatly provoked God to allow it (Daniel 8:23).

First, he had a deep hatred for the Jewish religion. His heart was against the holy covenant, as Daniel 11:28 says. Daniel 11:30 says he was angry at the holy covenant, that special covenant that set the Jews apart as a distinct people and gave them honor above other nations. He hated the law of Moses and the worship of the true God. He was upset by the special privileges given to the Jewish nation and the promises made to them. What brings God’s people hope and joy often stirs the envy of their neighbors, and that is the holy covenant. Esau hated Jacob because Jacob had received the blessing. People who are outside the covenant are often hostile to it.

Second, he carried out his evil plans with help from unfaithful Jews who had turned away from their faith. He kept contact with those who abandoned the holy covenant (Daniel 11:30), Jews who were false to their religion and brought in the customs of the Gentiles, with whom they made an alliance. This was fulfilled in 1 Maccabees 1:11-15, where these rebellious Jews are said to have made themselves uncircumcised and forsaken the holy covenant. In 2 Maccabees 4:9 we read about Jason, the brother of Onias the high priest, who was appointed by Antiochus and set up a school in Jerusalem to train young people in Gentile ways. In 2 Maccabees 4:23 and following, we read about Menelaus, who sided with Antiochus and helped him enter Jerusalem on his last return from Egypt. The book of Maccabees says much about the harm Jason, Menelaus, and their group did to the Jews. Antiochus used such people whenever he could. Those who act wickedly against the covenant, who cast off their religion and go along with the Gentiles, he will win over with smooth promises. He uses flattery to harden them in their rebellion and to make them bait for drawing others in (Daniel 11:32). It is no surprise when people do not live according to their religion and act wickedly against the covenant, because they can then be easily won over by flattery. Those who wreck a good conscience will soon wreck the faith too.

Third, he defiled the temple. Forces stood on his side (Daniel 11:31). This included not only his own army, which he brought back from Egypt, but also a large group of Jewish deserters who joined him. They desecrated the sanctuary, the holy place of strength, meaning not only the holy city but the temple itself. 1 Maccabees 1:21 and following tells the story. He entered the sanctuary with pride and took away the golden altar, the lampstand, and other sacred items. Because of this, there was great mourning in Israel, and the princes and elders lamented, as 1 Maccabees 1:25 says. In 2 Maccabees 5:15 and following, Antiochus entered the most holy temple, with Menelaus, that traitor to God’s law and to his own country, guiding him. Wanting everyone around him to adopt his religion, Antiochus removed the daily sacrifice, as Daniel 11:31 says. Some observe that the word translated “daily” is used here and in the parallel passage for the daily sacrifice, as if the wording were left open so it could point either to the Jewish sacrifice, which Antiochus stopped, or to gospel worship, which Antichrist would later oppose. Then he set up the abomination that makes desolate on the altar (1 Maccabees 1:54), an idol altar, as 1 Maccabees 1:59 says. He even called the temple the temple of Jupiter Olympius, as 2 Maccabees 6:2 records.

Fourth, he persecuted those who stayed faithful. Many abandoned the covenant and did wickedly against it, but there was still a people who knew their God and held on to that knowledge. They would be strong and do great things (Daniel 11:32). When others gave in to the tyrant’s demands and surrendered their consciences, these faithful people stood firm, resisted temptation, and put the tyrant to shame. Good old Eleazar, one of the leading scribes, had swine’s flesh forced into his mouth, but he bravely spit it out, even though he knew it would cost him his life. And it did, as 2 Maccabees 6:19 says. The mother and her seven sons were also put to death for staying true to their religion, as 2 Maccabees 7 tells us. That could rightly be called doing great deeds, because choosing suffering rather than sin is a great deed. They did these things by faith, by being strong in faith, and they were tortured without accepting release, as Hebrews 11:35 likely refers to. It may also point to the military courage and victories of Judas Maccabaeus and others against Antiochus.

The right knowledge of God is the strength of the soul, and by that strength gracious people do great things. Those who know his name will trust in him, and by that trust they will accomplish much. About this people who knew their God, we are told that they will instruct many (Daniel 11:33). They will make it their work to show others what they have learned about the difference between truth and falsehood, and between good and evil. Those who know God should share that knowledge with people around them, and this kind of spiritual kindness must reach many. Some take this to refer to a newly formed group for spreading divine knowledge, called Assideans, that is, godly men or devout people, since the name means pietists. They were both learned in the law and zealous for it, and they taught many. In times of persecution and apostasy, when people are tested, those who have knowledge should use it to strengthen and steady others. Those who understand things rightly should do what they can to help others understand, because knowledge is a talent that must be used. Or they may instruct many simply by their steadfastness in duty and their patient suffering for it. Good examples teach many, and often teach best.

They will also fall by the cruelty of Antiochus, being tortured and put to death by his rage. Though they are excellent, wise, and useful to others, Antiochus will show them no mercy. They will fall for some days, as Revelation 2:10 may be read, “You will have tribulation ten days.”

We read a great deal in the books of the Maccabees about Antiochus’s cruel treatment of the faithful Jews, how many he killed in war and how many he murdered in cold blood. Women were put to death for having their children circumcised, and their babies were hung around their necks (1 Maccabees 1:60, 61). But why did God allow this? How can this fit with God’s justice and goodness?

The answer is that it fits well, if we look at what God intended by it (Daniel 11:35). Some who had understanding would fall, but it would be for the good of the church and for their own spiritual good. It would test them, purify them, and make them clean. They needed these sufferings themselves. Even the best people have spots that must be washed away, and dross, the worthless metal that must be removed. Their troubles, especially their share in public troubles, help do this.

When God’s grace makes these sufferings useful, they become a means of putting sin to death, loosening their hold on the world, and waking them up to greater seriousness and faithfulness in religion. They test them like silver in a furnace, purifying it from its waste. They cleanse them like grain in a barn is winnowed from the chaff. They make them white like cloth cleaned by a fuller. See (1 Peter 1:7). Their suffering for righteousness would also test and purify the Jewish nation, and convince many of the truth, worth, and power of that holy religion for which these wise men died.

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. It is precious blood, and not a drop of it should be shed without such a valuable result. The cause of religion, though fiercely attacked, will not be destroyed. When they fall, they will not be completely cast down, but will be helped with a little help (Daniel 11:34). Judas Maccabeus, his brothers, and a few with them, made a stand against the tyrant and defended their ruined religion. They tore down the idol altars, circumcised the children they found uncircumcised, and recovered the law from the hands of the Gentiles, and the work prospered in their hands (1 Maccabees 2:45 and following).

Those who stand by religion when it is threatened and struck, even if they are not rescued right away or made victorious at once, will still have help in the present. Even a little help should not be ignored. When times are very bad, we should be thankful for any refreshment. It is also foretold that many would join them with flatteries. When they saw the Maccabees prosper, some Jews would attach themselves to them, though they were no true friends of religion. They would only pretend friendship, either to betray them or to rise with them. But the fiery trial (Daniel 11:35) would separate the precious from the worthless, and through it the true will be shown clearly.

Though these troubles may last a long time, they will end. They are for a time appointed, a set time fixed in God’s purpose. This warfare will be finished. The enemy’s power will go this far and no farther. Here his proud waves will be stopped.

Antiochus then grew very proud, rude, and profane. Puffed up by his victories, he defied heaven and trampled on everything sacred (Daniel 11:36 and following). Some think this begins a prophecy of the antichrist, the papal kingdom. It is clear that Paul, in his prophecy about the rise and reign of the man of sin, points back to this (2 Thessalonians 2:4). That shows Antiochus was a type, a picture in history, of that enemy, just as Babylon also was. But since this is joined in one continuous message with the earlier prophecies about Antiochus, it seems more likely that it mainly refers to him, with a later and fuller application to the other by way of comparison.

He would dishonor the God of Israel, the only living and true God, here called the God of gods. In defiance of God and his authority, he would do whatever he wanted against God’s people and holy religion. He would exalt himself above God, as Sennacherib did, and speak terrible things against God and against his laws and appointments. This was fulfilled when Antiochus forbade sacrifices in God’s temple, ordered the sabbaths to be profaned, and caused the sanctuary and the holy people to be polluted, all so that they might forget the law and change every ordinance, under penalty of death (1 Maccabees 1:45).

He would also proudly show contempt for all other gods and make himself greater than every god, even the gods of the nations. Antiochus wrote to his kingdom that everyone should leave the gods they had worshiped and worship the ones he ordered, unlike earlier conquerors (1 Maccabees 1:41, 42). The heathen all went along with the king’s command. As fond as they were of their gods, they did not think they were worth suffering for. Since their gods were idols, it was all the same to them which gods they worshiped.

Antiochus did not respect any god, but made himself greater than all (Daniel 11:37). He was so proud that he thought himself above the limits of a mortal man. He acted as if he could command the sea and reach the stars of heaven, as his arrogance is described in (2 Maccabees 9:8, 10). He kept this course until the anger was finished, until he had run his course and filled up the full measure of his sin. For what God has decided will happen, and nothing more or less, will be done.

He also would, unlike even the heathen usually did, disregard the god of his fathers (Daniel 11:37). Among the heathen, loyalty to the religion of their ancestors was almost as natural as the desire for women. If you search through the islands of Chittim, you will not find a nation that changed its gods (Jeremiah 2:10, 11). Yet Antiochus would not regard the god of his fathers. He made laws to abolish the religion of his country and bring in the gods of the Greeks. His predecessors had honored the God of Israel and given large gifts to the temple at Jerusalem (2 Maccabees 3:2, 3), but he showed the greatest contempt for God and his temple.

His not regarding the desire of women may point to his cruel nature, since he spared no age or sex, not even the little ones. It may also point to unnatural lusts, or more generally to his contempt for everything that honorable men care about. Or it may refer to something not preserved in history. Its connection with his not regarding the god of his fathers suggests that the idol worship of his country involved more fleshly pleasure than the worship of other nations, as Lucian wrote about the Syrian goddesses, and yet even that did not keep him loyal to them.

He would also set up an unknown god, a new god (Daniel 11:38).

In the place of his fathers’ gods, meaning the gods his ancestors worshiped, such as Apollo and Diana, gods linked with pleasure, he will honor a god of power. This is a false god that his fathers did not know or worship. Because he thinks he is wiser and stronger than his fathers, he will honor this god with gold, silver, and precious stones, giving it whatever seems too good to spare.

This appears to be Jupiter Olympius, known among the Phoenicians as Baal-Semen, “the lord of heaven.” Antiochus brought this worship into Syria, where it had not been known before. He would also do this in the strongest fortresses, especially in the temple at Jerusalem, called the sanctuary of strength (Daniel 11:31). There he would set up the image of this strange god. Some read the line to mean that he handed over the strongest defenses, that is, Jerusalem, to a foreign god, putting it under Jupiter Olympius’s protection and rule.

He would not only acknowledge this god, but would also give it greater glory by placing its image even on God’s altar. He would promote the priests of this idol and give them positions of power and trust. They would divide the land for profit and live richly from the country’s wealth. Some understand the “god of forces” to mean money, since money can answer many needs and often becomes the main idol of worldly people.

Much of this also fits the man of sin, that is, the rebellious religious power described in the New Testament. He exalts himself above everything called god or worshiped. His flatterers even call him “our lord God the pope.” By forbidding marriage and praising single life, he acts as if he does not care for the desire of women. He also honors the god of forces, or strongholds, through saints and angels, whom his followers treat as protectors, much as the heathen once treated their demons. They even make these figures rulers over different countries and honor them with great treasures. Learned Mr. Mede thought this prophecy was fulfilled there, and that it is referred to in (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

Here seems to be another expedition into Egypt, or at least a renewed struggle with Egypt. The Romans had kept Antiochus from invading Ptolemy, but now the king of the south pushes at him (Daniel 11:40) and makes an attempt on some of his territories. In response, Antiochus, the king of the north, comes against him like a whirlwind, with amazing speed and fury, with chariots, horses, and many ships, a very large army. He comes through countries and sweeps over them. On this quick march, many nations are overturned, and he enters the glorious land, the land of Israel, the same place called the pleasant land in (Daniel 8:9).

He does terrible harm among the nations around him, yet some escape his anger, especially Edom, Moab, and the chief people of Ammon (Daniel 11:41). He did not place those lands under tribute because they had joined him against the Jews. But Egypt especially does not escape. He strips it so thoroughly that he leaves it almost empty. Some think this was his fourth and last campaign against Egypt, in the tenth or eleventh year of his reign, under the pretense of helping the younger brother of Ptolemy Philometer against him.

We do not read of a great slaughter in this campaign, but there was heavy plunder, and that seems to have been his aim. He would have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt (Daniel 11:43). Polybius, as quoted by Athenaeus, says that Antiochus gathered a great amount of wealth by plundering young Philometer, breaking his agreement with him, and taking contributions from his friends. He then spent a huge amount on a triumph, copying Paulus Aemilius, and the wastefulness of it is described. So this prophecy tells us how he got the money he later spent so freely.

We are also told about the help he got from the Lybians and Ethiopians, who lived near Egypt. They were at his steps, ready at his command. They made raids into Egypt on his behalf and served his purposes.

Here is also a prediction of Antiochus’s downfall and ruin, as in (Daniel 8:25). When he is at the height of honor, full of victories and loaded with plunder, news from the east and from the north, or from the northeast, will trouble him (Daniel 11:44). Or he will hear that the king of Parthia is invading his kingdom from both directions. This will force him to leave his current plans and turn against the Persians and Parthians who were rebelling from him.

This will upset him deeply, because he had hoped to destroy the Jewish nation completely. Instead, this expedition will call him away, and in it he will die. Tacitus, though speaking wickedly, says that Antiochus tried to remove the Jewish religion and replace it with Greek customs, and he laments that the Parthian war kept him from finishing the job. So this is the last great outburst of his rage against the Jews. When he is confused and troubled in his affairs, he will go out in great fury to destroy and put many to death (Daniel 11:44). The story is reflected in (1 Maccabees 3:27 and following), which tells how furious Antiochus was when he heard of Judas Maccabaeus’s successes, and what orders he gave Lysias to destroy Jerusalem.

Then he planted the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas, between the Great Sea and the Dead Sea. He set up his royal camp at Emmaus near Jerusalem, showing that, though he was not there in person, he gave his captains full power to carry on the war against the Jews with the greatest harshness. He pitched his tent there as if he had already taken possession of the glorious holy mountain and claimed it as his own. When evil grows bold and shameless, we can often see that its ruin is near.

This is his end: he will come to his end, and no one will help him. God will cut him off in the middle of his days, and no one will be able to stop his fall. This is the same thought as in (Daniel 8:25), where he is broken without human help. When God’s time comes to bring proud oppressors down, no one can save them, and perhaps no one will even want to. Those who want everyone to fear them in their greatness often find, in their trouble, that no one loves them. No one will even lend them a hand or pray for their rescue. If the Lord does not help, who can?

Of the kings who came after Antiochus, nothing is foretold here. He was the most wicked and harmful enemy of the church, and he foreshadowed the son of perdition, the man of lawlessness, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming, and no one will be able to help him.