Sermon Tone Analysis

Wenstrom Bible Ministries

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Thursday June 19, 2014

www.wenstrom.org

Daniel 11:34-The Prophecy of Some Jews Joining Hypocritically the Faithful Jews’ Resistance Against Antiochus Epiphanes IV

Lesson # 351

Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:21.

Daniel 11:21 Next, in his place, a despicable person will ascend to power even though for his benefit sovereign authority over the kingdom will have never been conferred.

Nevertheless, he will appear on the scene during a time of false security when he seizes the kingdom by flatteries.

22 Then, immense armies will be swept away from the presence of his armies so that they will be destroyed along with even the leader over the covenant people.

23 Indeed, when he enters into an alliance to gain an advantage over him, he will practice deception because he will attack in order to gain power with a small force.

24 During a time of peace, he will in fact wage an attack against the province’s most productive areas.

Consequently, he will achieve what his fathers and his forefathers never achieved.

He will distribute plunder, yes war booty, as well as logistical provision for the benefit of others.

Furthermore, he will devise his schemes against fortified cities but only for a short period of time.

25 Indeed, because of his courage, with a great army, he will mobilize his military power against the king ruling the south because with a great army, yes an extremely powerful one, the king ruling the south will initiate hostile military action for war.

However, he will by no means stand because schemes will be devised against him.

26 Namely, those who eat his choice food will cause him to be defeated, specifically his army will be overwhelmed so that a great number will be killed in combat.

27 Then, these two kings, their hearts possessed by evil intentions, will consequently trade lies at the same table.

However, this will never succeed because there is still an end at the appointed time.

28 Next, he will return to his own land with much logistical provision.

However, his heart will become arrogant against the holy covenant so that he will take action.

Then, he will return to his own land.

29 At the appointed time, he will return in order to wage an attack against the south.

However, it will by no means turn out like the first or the last 30 because ships of Kittim will come against him.

Consequently, he will be intimidated so that he will retreat.

Then, he will vent his anger against the holy covenant so that he will take action.

When he returns, he will also show partiality for those who abandon the holy covenant.

31 Even military forces will be mustered by him in order to cause the holy place, the place of Refuge to be defiled.

Specifically, they will cause the daily sacrifice to be abolished.

They will even erect an abomination resulting in desecration.

32 Also, those who violate the covenant, he will pervert with flatteries.

However, those who know their God experientially will resist so that they will take action.

33 Indeed, those who are wise from the people will cause the masses to be instructed.

However, for a period of time, they will be killed by the sword, by the fire, by captivity as a result of being made a prisoner of war.” (My translation)

Daniel 11:34 “Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy.”

(NASB95)

“When they fall they will be granted a little help” stands in contrast to the previous statement that stated that for a period of time, those Jews who were wise would be killed by the sword, by the fire, by captivity as a result of being made a prisoner of war.

Therefore, the contrast is between these wise Jews being killed for resisting the decrees of the despicable king ruling the north and their receiving help when they were being killed by this wicked king.

Thus, the contrast is between having no apparent help and in fact having a little help to fight this wicked king.

“When they fall” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “when” and its object is the verb kā·šǎl (כָּשַׁל) (kaw-shal´), “fall” and then we have the third person masculine plural pronominal suffix hē·mā(h) (־הֵמָה) (haym´-maw), “they.”

The third person masculine plural pronominal suffix hē·mā(h) means “they” and is referring to those wise Jews who resisted the decrees of the despicable king ruling the north and remained faithful to the God of Israel by obeying the 613 commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.

As was the case in Daniel 11:33, the verb kā·šǎl here in Daniel 11:34 literally means “to fall” but it is used in a figurative of sense for being killed by an enemy, which is indicated by the prepositional phrases which follow it which indicate the means by which they fall.

The preposition b- is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb and is a temporal marker and means “when” since it is marking those who are wise in Israel receiving a little help “when” they are being killed by the despicable king ruling the north.

“They will be granted a little help” indicates that those who joined the wise Israelites to fight the king of the north only supported them to a small degree.

“And many will join with them in hypocrisy” stands in contrast with the previous statement.

Therefore, the contrast is between the wise in Israel resisting the king of the north receiving a little help and that little help is provided only by those who join in hypocrisy.

“Many will join with them in hypocrisy” refers to those who join the Jewish resistance out of hypocrisy.

“In hypocrisy” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “when” and its object is the noun ḥǎlǎq·lǎq (חֲלַקְלַק) (khal-ak-lak-kaw´), “hypocrisy.”

The noun ḥǎlǎq·lǎq is in the plural and literally means “empty words” but figuratively it means “hypocrisy” since it pertains to feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does, the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.

Here it refers to the hypocrisy of many of those who will join the Jewish resistance against the despicable king ruling the north in the sense that they will feign being loyal to the God of Israel and thus obedient to His laws.

The word is the object of the preposition bĕ which functions as a marker of manner expressing the manner in which the action of the verb is accomplished.

Here it expresses the manner in which many Jews will join the resistance against the king of the north.

Specifically it expresses the attitude of many who join the resistance indicating that “with empty words” from hypocrisy many Jews will join those who are wise in fighting the king of the north.

Daniel 11:34 “But when they are being killed, they will receive a little help.

However, with empty words from hypocrisy many will join with them.”

(My translation)

If you recall, in Daniel 11:33 the elect angel of God prophesied that those who were wise among the citizens of the nation of Israel will for a period of time be killed by the despicable king ruling the north.

This was fulfilled in history as we noted since history does in fact record that Antiochus Epiphanes IV put to death those men who were wise in Israel who had instructed the rest of the citizens of the nation of Israel to resist this wicked king’s attempt to Hellenize the nation.

These Jewish men were wise since they instructed the citizens of Israel to remain faithful to God by continuing to obey the 613 commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.

Antiochus outlawed the Scriptures and put to death anyone who possessed a copy of them.

He put to death those who would practice circumcision or observed the Sabbath.

He put a stop to the Levitical sacrifices in the temple and substituted them with the worship of the god of the Greeks, Zeus.

These wise and brave men were put to death by the sword, by fire, by captivity as a result of being made prisoners of war.

Thus, like Daniel 11:32, Daniel 11:33 also is a prophecy of the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes IV in the second century B.C.

Now, here in Daniel 11:34, the angel continues the prophecy of the persecution of the Jewish people by Antiochus Epiphanes IV.

In this verse, the angelic being informed Daniel that when these wise men in Israel are being killed by the despicable king ruling the north, they will receive a little help but this help will come from those Jews who will join the resistance out of hypocrisy.

This too was fulfilled in history since 1 and 2 Maccabees records that those Jews who deserted the Jewish resistance during persecution returned to the resistance when it began to achieve great success.

These individuals rejoined the resistance because of the severity in which the Maccabees punished those who did not join them in the resistance.

Out of fear, they joined the resistance but did not abandon their pro-Hellenistic convictions (1 Maccabees 2:42-48; 5:55-62; 2 Maccabees 12:39-40).

When the Hasidim began to execute those who were collaborators with the enemy, many insincere Jews joined the cause of the resistance because they wanted to save their lives.

Eventually, these who rejoined the resistance out of hypocrisy later became a great help to the enemy when the successors of Antiochus Epiphanes IV would wage wars after his death in 164 B.C.