Daniel 8 and Daniel 11 give some of the most detailed and astonishing prophecies in the entire Bible. If the average person were to glance at these prophecies, they would read them as a history book. Daniel 8 begins by showing a dream of a ram with two horns, which represents the Medo-Persian Empire. The two horns represent the kings of the Medes and Persia. After this, a shaggy goat with a horn between his eyes came from the west and charged toward the ram. This goat was so powerful and swift that he crossed the earth without touching the ground. This goat represented the famed Grecian Empire and the horn represented its first king, the legendary Alexander the Great. Considered one of the most skilled military commanders in human history, Alexander conquered the known world in his 20's. The prophecy concerning Alexander's defeat of the Persian Empire occurred in 331 B.C. when King Darius III, King of Persia, was conquered at the Battle of Gaugamela. Several years later, Alexander's demise happened, which fulfills Daniel 8:8. "The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven." Alexander died in Babylon at the age of 32, although there are conflicting accounts of how he died. These four prominent horns represent Alexander's four generals who took control of the empire after his death. Lysimachus took Thrace and Asia Minor (Turkey), Cassander took Greece and Macedonia, Ptolemy took Egypt, and Seleucus took Syria, Babylon, Persia, and India. Before getting into the climax of Daniel 8, we need to take a hard look at Daniel 11 because an intense power struggle between the Selecuid dynasty and Ptolemaic dynasty occurs, which has major historical and prophetic implications.
The Kings of the South and North in Daniel 11 can only be understood by unpacking history. After a brief introduction of Alexander the Great's rise to power and fall, which parallels Daniel 8, we see a complex struggle emerge between the Seleucid dynasty (King of the North) and the Ptolemaic dynasty (King of the South). As I mentioned, the Seleucid dynasty primarily controlled Syria, Babylon (Iraq), and Persia (Iran), while the Ptolemaic dynasty controlled Egypt. In Daniel 11:5, it states, "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." The king of the South mentioned here is the first king of the South, Ptolemy I Soter and "one of his commanders" refers to his main counterpart, Seleucus I Nicator. Then, an alliance would emerge between the two dynasties. It says, "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" (11:6). This wasn't fulfilled directly during Seleucus I Nicator's reign, but rather during the reign of his son, Antiochus II Theos. After Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, married Antiochus II Theos, Laodice, the previous wife of Antiochus, killed Berenice, Antiochus II, and their son out of revenge. In verse 7, it says, "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." From Berenice's family line, Ptolemy III Euergetes, rose to power and defeated the king of the South, Seleucus II Callinicus, who was the son of Antiochus II Theos. There was peace between the two dynasties for a little while.
In verse 9, Daniel states, "Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress." The king of the North's sons in this case are Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III, although the king of the South, Ptolemy IV Philopater would defeat the large army of the North. Antiochus III, despite the defeat would conquer Israel by 197 B.C. and would try to conquer Egypt once again, although he suffered a defeat at the ends of the king of the South, Ptolemy V Epiphanes. A few years later, Antiochus III made a peace treaty with Egypt by giving his daughter, Cleopatra I, to Ptolemy V in marriage. Antiochus III died a few years later trying to plunder a pagan temple. The son of Antiochus III was Seleucus IV, although he was murdered by his finance minister, Heliodorus, which fulfills Daniel 11:20, which states, "In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle." All of this complex background information leads up to the successor of Seleucus IV, a man infamously known as Antiochus IV Epiphanes, also referred to as "the contemptible person".
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus IV, unlawfully became king even though the throne really belonged to Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV. Because of intrigue and deception, Antiochus Epiphanes seized power with "a small people" (11:23). When cities and nations felt safe, he waged war on them and he also attacked Egypt numerous times. Among Antiochus Epiphanes' predecessors, Egypt generally dominated them militarily, but Antiochus IV was successful due to his deception and the fact that Egypt's allies abandoned them. This caused Antiochus Epiphanes to acquire wealth, power, and prestige. Later, in 168 B.C., he tried to attack Egypt again. This time, a Roman ambassador blocked his path and delivered a message saying that the Roman Republic would intervene on behalf of Egypt. Antiochus IV returned to Syria with great rage. He decided to attack Israel instead. In verse 31-32, it states, "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination of desolation. With flattery, he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist." Antiochus Epiphanes, because of his deep Jew-hatred, erected a statue of Zeus on the temple mount in Jerusalem and sacrificed a pig on the altar. Some apostate Jews joined Antiochus, but Judas Maccabeus led the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus and his army, which caused them to retreat. It took 2,300 days to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem, which fulfilled Daniel 8:14. This reconsecration is known as Hanukkah. Later, in verse 26, it states, "The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future." This parallels Daniel 8:17, when the angel Gabriel tells Daniel, "Son of man, understand that the vision concerns the time of the end." If this was fulfilled in history, how could this have relevance in the future?
In Matthew 24:15, Jesus warns, "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination of desolation', spoken of through the prophet Daniel, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." As you may know, the Bible contains many types and shadows, some hidden and some plainly seen. For instance, Boaz, from the Book of Ruth, serves as a type of Jesus Christ, the "kinsman redeemer". Another example includes Enoch, which represents a prototype of the rapture of the church. Antiochus Epiphanes serves as a shadow of the end time antichrist. Just as Antiochus started small as a "little horn", the antichrist will start small, likely as a small-time politician, before persecuting God's people and leading the greatest rebellion the world has ever seen. While Daniel 7 speaks of this antichrist, Daniel 11:36 continues to elaborate on this infamous man. Daniel 11:21-25 talks about the career of Antiochus Epiphanes, but starting in verse 36, we see a sudden shift as the antichrist's career is outlined. While Antiochus was an arrogant, vile person, he didn't demand to be worshiped as a god. Conversely, the antichrist "will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all" (11:37). In the future abomination of desolation, the antichrist will not erect a statue of Zeus, but rather will have a statue of himself placed in the Jewish temple, which is still yet to be rebuilt. Additionally, the antichrist will invade many countries just like Antiochus, but he will specifically overthrow Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. While Antiochus defeated Egypt once, he never conquered Libya or Sudan. The antichrist will also attempt to defeat Edom, Moab, and the leaders of Ammon, which are all located in modern day Jordan. Evidently, he will not succeed. Most scholars believe the Jewish remnant, after the abomination of desolation occurs, will flee to Petra in Jordan. There they will be protected for the last half of the tribulation. Just like Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to his end, God will protect His people and will supernaturally overthrow the antichrist
Evidently, in the future, there will be another king of the North and king of the South. Just as Antiochus was the king of the North in the past, the antichrist will be the king of the North in the future. Some people believe that the antichrist will be attacked by both a future king of the North and king of the South. Some translations are confusing and fail to completely acknowledge that the king of the South will attack the king of the South. They won't make an alliance to attack a separate antichrist. I believe that the New Living Translation gives the best translation. It states, "Then at the time of the end, the king of the South will attack the king of the North. The king of the North will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood" (11:40). With this in mind, does that mean that the antichrist will arise from the Seleucid territory, which spawned Antiochus Epiphanes? It is certainly possible that the antichrist will come from the Seleucid territory (Iraq/Syria/Iran), but I am not dogmatic about that. In my Ezekiel 38 post, Gog seemed to fit the identity of the antichrist and his territory in Turkey seems to be a likely place for the antichrist to arise from. Ultimately, though, there is still conjecture, but scripture seems to make it clear that Alexander's four generals seem to play a major role in identifying where the end times "man of sin" will come from. Stay tuned.
Sources
1. http://biblehub.com/daniel/11-40.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes#Final_years
3. http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/series/DAN/D013/D0134.html
4. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/alexander.htm
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great#Death_and_succession
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