Daniel 11.16-The Prophecy of the Dominance of Antiochus III in the Middle East and His Occupation of Israel
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday May 1, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:16-The Prophecy of the Dominance of Antiochus III in the Middle East and His Occupation of Israel
Lesson # 333
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:2.
Daniel 11:2 “Now, at this present time, I must reveal to you the truth. Behold, three future kings will ascend to power for Persia. Then, the fourth will cause greater riches to make him wealthier than each and every one of these in comparison. However, when he amasses power through his wealth, the entire nation will stir up the Greek kingdom. 3 Next, a powerful king will ascend to power so that he will rule with great authority with the result that he will do according to his desire. 4 However, after he ascends to power, his kingdom will be broken up. Then, it will be divided towards the heaven’s four winds but not for the benefit of his posterity and in addition, not according to his sovereign will which he sovereignly exercised. For his kingdom will be uprooted specifically, for the benefit of others, to the separation and exclusion of these. 5 Then, the king ruling the south as well as one of his subordinate commanders will be strong. In fact, he will become stronger than him because he will exercise authority over a dominion greater than his dominion. 6 Next, at the end of an unspecified number of years, they will form an alliance as the daughter of the king ruling the south will enter into marriage with the king ruling the north in order to secure a peaceful arrangement. However, she will by no means retain her powerful position likewise he will by no means endure, namely his power. For she will be delivered over as well as he who caused her to enter into marriage, as well as her child and in addition, her benefactor during those times. 7 But one of the branches from her roots will ascend to power in his place. Then, he will wage an attack against their army so that he will enter the fortress of the king ruling the north. Indeed, he will take action against them so that he will be victorious. 8 Consequently, he will also cause their gods to be transported into captivity to Egypt along with their cast images, as well as their valuable silver and gold articles. Furthermore, for some years he will withdraw from the king ruling the north. 9 Then, he will wage an attack against the king ruling the south but will return to his land. 10 Following this, his sons will initiate hostile military action. Specifically, they will muster a multitude of great military forces. Then, he will as a certainty wage a massive attack so that he will overflow, yes, pass through like a flood with the result that he will turn him back. Indeed, he will engage in hostile military action up to his fortress. 11 Then, the king ruling the south will cause himself to be enraged so that he will march out in order to wage war against him, against the king ruling the north. Consequently, he will cause a great multitude to be assembled. However, despite this, this multitude will be delivered into his power. 12 When this multitude will be defeated, his heart will become arrogant. Even though, he will cause ten thousand to fall in combat, he will by no means continue to prevail. 13 For he will return again since he will muster a multitude larger than the first in order to wage a massive attack with a great army as well as enormous logistical provision at the end of an interval of some years. 14 In fact, during those days, certain great ones will oppose the king ruling the south. Even violent persons belonging to your people will for their own benefit, rebel in order to fulfill the revelation but they will be overthrown. 15 And so, the king ruling the north will wage an attack. Specifically, he will construct a siege mound in order to capture a fortified city. However, the south’s armed forces will by no means stand their ground, not even their elite unit because there will be no strength.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:16 But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.” (NASB95)
“He who comes against him will do as he pleases” presents the result of the angel’s previous statement recorded in Daniel 11:15.
Therefore, this indicates that the defeat of the south’s armed forces by the armies led by king of the north will result in the king of the north doing as he pleases because no one will be able to stand against him.
“He who comes against him” refers to the king of the north waging an attack against the armies of the south.
“No one will be able to withstand him” presents the reason why the king of the north will be able to do as he pleases as a result of defeating the king of the south indicating that the king of the north will be able to do as he pleases as a result of defeating the king of the south “because” there will be no one able withstand him.
“He will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land” refers to the king of the north’s occupation of Israel.
Though in Daniel’s day Israel was destroyed by war, it was still called beautiful by Daniel since it is the place in which the Messiah would be crucified and would die as a substitute for all of sinful humanity.
It is also the place in which He will reign over all the earth for a thousand years.
“With destruction in his hand” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “with” which is followed by the noun kā·lā(h) (כָּלָה) (kaw-law´), “destruction” which is followed by the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh) “in” and its object is the noun yāḏ (יָד) (yawd), “power” which is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix –hû (־הוּ) (who), “his.”
The conjunction wa means “so that” since it is functioning as a marker of result meaning it is introducing a clause which presents the result of the king of the north occupying Israel.
At this point in verse 16, we have the figure of ellipsis meaning that the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb hǎwā(h) (הֲוָה) (hav-aw´) is deliberately omitted.
However it is implied and means “it will be” indicating that Israel “will be” completely in the power of the king of the north as a result of this king occupying her.
The noun kā·lā(h) does not mean “destruction, complete destruction, annihilation.”
Even though it has this meaning in Daniel (9:27).
It does not always have this meaning.
The primary meaning with this word is “completion” of some process.
It is employed with the prepositional phrase b w yā·ḏōʹ (בְיָדֹֽו), “in his hand” expressing the idea that Israel would be completely controlled by the king of the north.
It expresses the idea that Israel will be completely or entirely in the power of the king of the north.
The noun yāḏ means “power” which is modified by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix –hû, which means “his” referring of course to the king of the north.
Together they refer to the military power of the king of the north.
The noun yǎḏ is the object of the preposition bĕ, which is a marker of a state or condition indicating that Israel existed in the state of being completely in the power of the king ruling the north.
Daniel 11:16 “Consequently, the one who waged the attack will do according to his desire because there will be absolutely no one standing against him. Furthermore, he will occupy the beautiful land so that it will be completely in his power.” (My translation)
The angelic being continues his prophecy of Antiochus III the Great who is the king of the north in Daniel 11:9-15.
Here in verse 16, the angel presents to Daniel the result of the king of the north defeating the army of the king of the south.
As we noted in verse 15, the angel reiterated a statement he made recorded in verse 14 that the king ruling the north will wage an attack against the king of the south.
He then gives Daniel specifics regarding this attack by telling him that the king of the north will construct a siege mound in order to capture a fortified city of the king of the south.
This fortified city will be captured because the armed forces of the south and even their elite combat unit will not being able to hold their ground and protect the city from capture and the reason for this is that the armed forces of the south did not have the military power to withstand this attack led by the king of the north.
Daniel 11:15 has been fulfilled in history since history records that in 203 B.C. Antiochus III, the king of the north, laid siege to Egypt’s fortified city Sidon and capture it.
Antiochus forced the Egyptian general Scopas to surrender near the headwaters of the Jordan River.
Three other Egyptian military commanders sought to rescue Scopas at Sidon but failed.
This was a great strategic victory for Antiochus III and it also put Israel under the control of the Seleucid kingdom until the Roman Empire wrestled it from its control.
Now, here in Daniel 11:16, the elect angel of God predicts that as a result of his victory over the king of the south, the king of the north will do as he pleases because there will be absolutely no one to stand against him.
Furthermore, the king of the north will occupy Israel so that Israel will be totally in his power.
This too has been fulfilled in history since history records that as a result of his great victory over the Egyptian army led by Scopas, Antiochus III the Great was in control of the Middle East.
Egypt was the only nation that had the resources to fight him and yet they failed to defeat him.
History also records Antiochus III entering Israel and being welcomed by the Jews as a “deliverer and benefactor” and thus he was well-disposed towards the Jews but he did punish those Jews who were pro-Egyptian.
Therefore, although Antiochus has the power to destroy Israel, he did not but he did have complete control over Israel.
Historians record that Antiochus did not tax the citizens of Jerusalem for three years and afterwards they were released from paying one third of the taxes.
Furthermore, he bestowed a large sum of money for the service of the Temple.
He also released the elders of the Jews, their priests and scribes as well as singers in the Temple from all future taxes but this was an indication of Antiochus’ complete control over the most powerful men in Israel.