Daniel Extremity 11 Part 4


Dan 11:36-39 KJV
(36) And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
(37) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
(38) But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
(39) Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

We have been looking at the history of Antioch Epiphanes or Antioch IV to shorten up a little bit. Again we can state that the history may turn some people off. Again we can say that it's worth noticing because of what we learn about the prophetic fulfillment of the book of Daniel. However we can also gain insight as to what we can expect in regards to future events. The same types of problems Antioch IV brought to the Hebrew people will mirror what the antichrist will do concerning the entire world. We can once again make note of a couple of passages that instruct us in this manner of belief.

Ecc 1:9-11 KJV

(9) The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

(10) Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

(11) There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Ecc 3:15-17 KJV

(15) That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

(16) And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

(17) I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

In other words what has been in the OT world regarding the nation of of Israel and the Hebrew people will repeat itself both for Israel and the world of the NT.

As we left off in section 3 the killing of those faithful to God is permitted in order to inspire others to either hold on or return to the faith in God.

Dan 11:35 KJV

(35) And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

In our beginning verse for this section of the study it is made clear that Antioch IV would be permitted to do as he please. This is also stated concerning the conquest of the Egyptian territory in verse 16.

Dan 11:16 KJV

(16) But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

It is also mentioned in chapter 8.

Dan 8:8-12 KJV

(8) Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

(9) And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

(10) And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

(11) Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

(12) And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

Dan 11:37 KJV

(37) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Dan 11:37

Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers -

The God that his fathers or ancestors had worshipped: That is, he would not be bound or restrained by the religion of his own land, or by any of the usual laws of religion. He would worship any God that he pleased, or none as he pleased. The usual restraints that bind men - the restraints derived from the religion of their ancestors - would in this case be of no avail.

Nor the desire of women - 

From what we have read and what historians have made of concerning Antioch IV this could have many different circumstances. In one of our preceding sections we read a passage out of the books of the Maccabees which described the tortuous deaths of a mother and her 7 sons. This in itself signifies his lack of mercy for both children, infants, and the murder of innocent women. Infants who were circumcised were killed in addition to their mothers.

It is not necessary to say that this agrees exactly with the character of Antiochus. He was sensual and corrupt, and given to licentious indulgence, and was incapable of honorable and pure love, and was a stranger to all those bland and pure affections produced by intercourse with refined and enlightened females. If one wishes to describe a high state of tyranny and depravity in a man, it cannot be done better than by saying that he disregards whatever is attractive and interesting to a virtuous female mind.

In a word study we can also demonstrate the lack of emotional connections or possibly even sexual connections with women.

Dan 11:37 KJV

(37) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire (H2532) of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

H2532

חמדּה chemdâh

khem-daw'

Feminine of H2531; delight: - desire, goodly, pleasant, precious.

We can take a passage from Isaiah 14 to understand more of this exaltation.

Isa 14:12-14 KJV

(12) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

(13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

(14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. -

Any religious restraints whatever - the laws of any god worshipped in his own land or elsewhere in heaven or on earth. That is, he would be utterly irreligious in heart, and where it conflicted with his purposes would set at nought every consideration derived from reverence to God.

No one will expect piety toward God to be found in a bosom that sees nothing to interest him in the sympathies and virtues of the femme mind; and the character of a woman-hater and a hater of God will uniformly be found united in the same person. Such a person was Antiochus Epiphanes; and such men have often been found in the world.

Dan 11:38 KJV

(38) But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

This is a very interesting verse. If you notice in the first reference to God the word God is capitalized. In the other use of the word it is not. Throughout scripture this is usually the way we interpret the difference between our God of the bible and those which are not. The only place to date that yours truly has found this spelling is in the KJV of the bible. In order to demonstrate we will do something which we very rarely have. That is to parallel some different translations.

Dan 11:38 ASV American Standard Version
(38) But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

Dan 11:38 CEV Contemporary English Version
(38) and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts.

Dan 11:38 DRB Douray-Rheims Version
(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.

Dan 11:38 JPS Jewish Publication Society
(38) But in his place shall he honour the god of strongholds; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and costly things.

Dan 11:38 MKJV Modern King James Version
(38) But in his place he shall honor the god of forces; and a god whom his fathers did not know, he shall honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones and desirable things.

Dan 11:38 LITV Green's Literal Translation Version
(38) But in his place he shall honor the god of forces, and he shall honor a god whom his fathers did not know, with gold and silver and with precious stones, and desirable things.

Okay so now the question becomes what does all this have to do with anything? Well this is where our word studies once again hopefully clear things up a bit.

Dan 11:38 KJV
(38) But in his estate shall he honour (H3513)the God(H433) of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

Now in each case the same words honor and God are used each time. The use of the word for honor is a word which can be represented in a good and bad sense just as we have God and god.

H3513

כּבד כּבד kâbad kâbêd

kaw-bad, kaw-bade'

A primitive root; to be heavy, that is, in a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense (numerous, rich, honorable); causatively to make weighty (in the same two senses): - abounding with, more grievously afflict, boast, be chargeable, X be dim, glorify, be (make) glorious (things), glory, (very) great, be grievous, harden, be (make) heavy, be heavier, lay heavily, (bring to, come to, do, get, be had in) honour (self), (be) honourable (man), lade, X more be laid, make self many, nobles, prevail, promote (to honour), be rich, be (go) sore, stop.

H433

אלהּ אלוהּ 'ĕlôahh 'ĕlôahh

el-o'-ah, el-o'-ah

(The second form is rare); probably prolonged (emphatically) from H410; a deity or the deity: - God, god. See H430.

What I hope can be put forth with clarity is that the bad sense of the word honor could be applied to the God we know the God of our Bible. This would indicate that Antioch was explained as burdensome to the Lord. Now in the other sense of the word used with the lower case letters we can see that the intentions of Antioch were to lay heavily upon his abomination of desolation the offerings of gold,silver,stones and other pleasantries. Again it would appear that the only version of the bible that contains this comparison of upper and lower case lettering is the KJV.

Dan 11:39 KJV

(39) Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Dan 11:39

Thus shall he do in, the most strong holds -

The reference is to strongly fortified places; to those places which bad been made strong for purposes of defense. The idea is, that he would carry on his purposes against these places, as it were, under the auspices of this strange god. It was a fact, that in his wars Antiochus came into possession of the strong places, or the fortified towns of the nations which he attacked - Jerusalem, Sidon, Peluslum, Memphis - then among the strongest places in the world.

With a strange god -

A foreign god whom his fathers did not acknowledge; that is, according to the supposition above, and according to the fact, with the god whom he had adored at Rome, and whose worship he was ambitious to transfer to his own empire - the Jupiter of the Capitol. He seemed to be acting under the auspices of this foreign god.

Whom he shall acknowledge -

By building temples and altars to him. “And increase with glory.” That is, with honor. He would seem to increase or extend his dominion in the world, by introducing his worship in his own county and in the lands which he would conquer. Before, his dominion appeared to be only at Rome; Antiochus sought that it might be extended farther, over his own kingdom, and over the countries that he would conquer.

And he shall cause them to rule over many -

That is, the foreign gods. Mention had been made before of only one god; but the introduction of the worship of Jupiter would be naturally connected with that of the other gods of Rome, and they are, therefore, referred to in this manner. The conquests of Antiochus would seem to be a setting up of the dominion of these gods over the lands which he subdued.

And shall divide the land for gain -

Recognizing the potential danger in the east, but unwilling to give up control of Judea, Antiochus sent a commander named Lysias to deal with the Maccabees, while the King himself led the main Seleucid army against the Parthians. After initial success in his eastern campaign, including the reoccupation of Armenia, Antiochus died suddenly of disease in 163 BC.

He was described as, "A noble man, and one of the blood royal". Antiochus IV Epiphanes (circa 166 BC) left him with the government of Southern Syria and the guardianship of his son, while Antiochus went in person into Persia to collect the revenues which were not coming in satisfactorily.

According to Josephus the instructions of Lysias were "to conquer Judea, enslave its inhabitants, utterly destroy Jerusalem and abolish the whole nation." Lysias, accordingly, armed against Judas Maccabeus a large force under Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, Nicanor and Gorgias. Of this force Judas defeated the two divisions under Nicanor and Gorgias near Emmaus (166 BC), and in the following year Lysias himself at Beth-zur (Bethsura) [3], after which he proceeded to the purification of the temple.

1Ma 3:32-36 KJVA

(32) So he left Lysias, a nobleman, and one of the blood royal, to oversee the affairs of the king from the river Euphrates unto the borders of Egypt:

(33) And to bring up his son Antiochus, until he came again.

(34) Moreover he delivered unto him the half of his forces, and the elephants, and gave him charge of all things that he would have done, as also concerning them that dwelt in Juda and Jerusalem:

(35) To wit, that he should send an army against them, to destroy and root out the strength of Israel, and the remnant of Jerusalem, and to take away their memorial from that place;

(36) And that he should place strangers in all their quarters, and divide their land by lot.

Dan 11:40-45 KJV

(40) And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

(41) He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

(42) He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

(43) But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

(44) But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:

Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

(45) And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

For a glimpse at some of the history associated with the prophecy we will turn to Adam Clarke's commentary on the Bible. 

Dan 11:40 KJV

(40) And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

The word “end,” however, obviously refers to another close or consummation - the end or consummation of the affairs that reach far into the future - the final dispensation of things in this world. It has been held by many that this could not be understood as referring to Antiochus, because what is here stated did not occur in the close of his reign. 

These kings are to be understood in reference to the times of which the prophet speaks. While the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria were subsisting, the king of the south and the north applied to them exclusively: but they did not exist at the time of which the prophet speaks; therefore other southern and northern powers must be sought. These we may find in the Saracens, who were of the Arabians, who came from the south, headed by the false prophet Mohammed, who pushed at him - made war on the Greek emperor Heraclius, and with amazing rapidity deprived him of Egypt, Syria, and many of his finest provinces.

And the king of the north -

The Turks, who were originally Scythians, seized on the remains of the Greek empire; and in process of time rendered themselves masters of the whole. They are represented as coming like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen; their armies being chiefly composed of cavalry.

And with many ships -

With these they got possession of many islands and maritime countries; and were so powerful in their fleets, that they entirely defeated the Venetians; and at last their fleets became of the utmost consequence to them in besieging, and afterwards taking, Constantinople, a.d. 1453, which they hold to the present day. So they entered into the countries, and overflowed, rendering themselves masters of all Asia Minor and Greece.

Dan 11:41 KJV

(41) He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Dan 11:41

He shall enter also into the glorious land - Entirely subdue Judea.

And many countries shall be overthrown - Aleppo, Damascus, Gaza, and many other cities were forced to submit to them; and they hold them still.

Dan 11:42 KJV

(42) He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Dan 11:42

He shall stretch forth his hand -

He - the Ottoman emperors, have stretched forth the hand, not only on European, but also upon Asiatic and African countries. Egypt - has not escaped; it is a province of the Turkish government, as are also Fez, Morocco, Algiers, and many other African countries. And as the prophecy says they “got power over the silver and gold, and the precious things of Egypt,” so it was; for when Selim conquered Egypt, a.d. 1517, he took all its spoils; and the immense sums drawn from it to the present day, and the wretchedness of the land in consequence, are almost incredible.

The Libyans and the Ethiopians -

The Cushim - unconquered Arabs, all sought their friendship; and many of them are tributary to the present time.

Dan 11:43-44 KJV

(43) But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

(44) But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

If the Turkish power be understood, as in the preceding verses, it may mean that the Persians on the east, and the Russians on the north, will at some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government. And how completely has this been fulfilled; first, by the total destruction of the Egyptian fleet, by the combined fleets of England, France, and Russia, in the Bay of Navarino; and, secondly, by the total overthrow of the Turkish army by the Russians, in the years 1828 and 1829, when the sultan was obliged to accept any conditions that the emperor of Russia was pleased to give!

Dan 11:45 KJV

(45) And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Dan 11:45

He shalt plant the tabernacles -

He shall make a last stand in Judea, and there shall his power be smitten.

He shall come to his end, and none shall help him -

All his confederate and tributary kingdoms, states, and provinces shall desert him and leave that government to come to a shameful end.

In the interpretation of this chapter I have generally followed Bp. Newton, in his most excellent Dissertations on the Prophecies, consulting other eminent authors occasionally.

From the beginning of the chapter to the end of Dan_11:30 all is very clear and plain, relative to the Grecian, Syrian, and Egyptian histories; from the thirty-first verse to the end, the mode of interpretation is not so satisfactory, in its application to the times since Christ. Yet possibly these alone may be intended; though the whole might be, with considerable ease, applied to the remaining part of the Syrian and Egyptian history. It is a wonderful piece of prophecy, and of great utility to the cause of Divine revelation.

We will also continue to look into these circumstances and possibilities when we do a summary of our studies of Daniel.

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