Written in 534. The initial aspects of the prophecy of Daniel 11 have taken place precisely as God predicted. A comparison of secular history with the biblical record will reveal the fascinating details. It's no wonder some people try to date the book much later, these prophecies are insane and they just keep going and going. I don't think it coincidence that God lays out such a long prophecy of world events for the same period of time that would be known as the 'silent years,' the years between the last book of the old testament and the first of the new. God seemingly went quite for about 400 years. But he left the people during that time prophecy being fulfilled before their eyes. Here are people who have gone about defending the original dating https://christian-apologist.com/2019/09/06/when-was-the-book-of-daniel-written/
https://www.toughquestionsanswered.org/2016/07/08/when-was-the-book-of-daniel-written/
•“3 more kings will arise in Persia, 4th far richer, by his strength and riches, he’ll stir up all against realm of Greece.” Cyrus (550-530BC) was 3 years into his reign when this was written. Then Cambyses II, then pseudo-Smerdis, then Darius I, and then as predicted the 4th…Xerxes I (486-465BC). He was indeed richer; he was known for his high taxes. Ruled during time of greatest power of Persian empire. Went into Greece with army of several hundred thousand. Herodotus-father of history, says this was the largest army up until that point.
•“then a mighty king shall arise, who’ll rule with dominion and do his own will. At the height of his power, his kingdom shall be broken up toward 4 winds of heaven (North, south, east, west-all these writings from perspective of Jerusalem) but not given to descendants and it won’t be as strong as it had been for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.” Alexander the great died and 4 generals took their own parts. Alex the great was called great for a reason, just as the verse says, he accomplished what he wanted and they were the most dazzling and speedy military conquests in human history that’s why in Dan 7 he is the leopard with wings. And these divided kingdoms were much weaker. This is the 3rd prophecy of this kingdom being broken into 4. “and the king of the south shall become strong, as well as one of his princes, he’ll gain power over him and have a great dominion.” The king of the south (Egypt and Palestine) would obviously be Ptolemy (323-282BC). North and south kingdoms both became strong and the other two crumbled. That’s why there’s no focus on them. Seleucus I ‘king of the north’, was a ‘satrap/governor/prince’ under Ptolemy. Through political and military maneuvering, he gained control of the whole region. For four years he was Ptolemy’s prince, then he took over in 312BC, there was nothing Ptolemy could do.
•“at the end of some time, they’ll join forces as the daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance but she will lose her influence over him and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters.” So the time taken is 40 years, the daughter (Bernice) of the king of the south (Ptolemy II) was indeed sent to be married. When Ptolemy died, king of the north (Antiochus II) decided he didn’t want Bernice anymore and got his old wife back, his old wife poisoned and killed him, has Bernice and her infant killed and puts her own child on the throne of the empire.
•‘but when one of her relatives becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. 8 When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.’ Bernice’s brother (Ptolemy III) (246-222BC) invaded Syria because of the murder of his sister. He killed the woman who killed his sister, he plundered, and recovered idols of Egypt taken by Cambyses in 524BC.
•‘the king of the north shall come to the kingdom of the south but return to his own land.’ Happened in 240BC when Seleucus III went and had a revenge attack but failed.
•‘although his sons shall cause trouble and assemble great forces, one will come and overwhelm and pass through. Then he’ll return to his fortress and stir up trouble.’ Sons of Seleucus were Seleucus and Antiochus III. They both had power, but young Seleucus was murdered. Antiochus III took over and successfully invaded Egypt. He launched a conquest against the Holy land.
•‘Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived.’ This is an actual famous battle known as the Battle of Raphia or the Battle of Elephants. Antiochus III launched an expedition against Phoenicia and Palestine (219-218BC) where he was beaten by a smaller army of Ptolemy IV, Antiochus III’s army was destroyed. But the success of the South was short lived as Ptolemy IV died and was succeeded by 4-year-old Ptolemy V (Epiphanes). Antiochus then struck Egypt again.
•‘king of the north will return with a greater army years later. In those days many will come against the king of the south. Violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision but they will fall.’ 14 years later, Jews partnered with Antiochus he reached out to lots of people, many joined, Egyptian rebels, Philip king of Macedonia, they all fall because Antiochus treats them very bad, Ptolemy the 4th is now ruling in the south. He is a child which helps Antiochus III.
•‘Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught. The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on destroying it.’ The first fight was at a place called Paneas at headwaters of Jordan river. The fight was against Scopas, an Egyptian general. He fled in the face of Antiochus’ army to a fortified city (Sidon), where Antiochus the great built a siege mound against Sidon, he conquered it and Scopus surrendered in 199BCE. 3 other military leaders tried to help and deliver Scopas, but they all failed. Antiochus gained control of Israel from headwaters to Gaza strip.
•‘He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.’ Antiochus the great gave his daughter Cleopatra to 8-year-old king of the south, Seleucus the 5th. Obviously, this is to get a foothold in the kingdom. But it doesn’t work because the daughter picks Ptolemy over her father.
•‘After this, he will turn his attention to the coast-land and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.’Coast lands being in Mediterranean Sea, the area where Rome was beginning to gain power. This is about the end of Antiochus the great and his reign. He went to attack the Romans up in med sea, took a bit of their land until roman general Lucius routed Antiochus at magnesia in 190BC. Rome made Antiochus pay for the war. Had his son as hostage. He goes back home and tries to steal from the temple there, he was slain with his soldiers when his town rose up and attacked him for it.
•“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle.” His son’s name was Seleucus the 4th Philopator, for 12 years all he did was tax, it’s what he was known for. Trying to raise money to pay the Romans, he reigns for 12 years, his father did for 37. He was poisoned by Heliodorus the guy he sent to plunder and steal.
•“The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue.” This next guy is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, also detailed in ch 7 and 8. Persecuted Jews. This is the boy who was held hostage in Rome. This is the guy who arranges for his nephew to be hostage while he comes out, when Seleucus Philopator was poisoned, Antiochus Epiphanes rose up through intrigue/deal-making and became king. Claims co-regent with infant, then kills him, known for giving lavish speeches, giving money to poor, nasty habits, known to disguise himself as a commoner and go out and just throw rocks at people. Antiochus Epiphanes means glorious illustrious one, possibly even god manifest. He gave himself this name, he was very boastful.
•“Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.” The prince of the covenant was the Jewish high priest Onias III. In the first year of his reign AE took high priest Onias out and replaced him with his brother Joshua who had been swayed by AE. Soon AE was betraying Joshua for a larger sum of money.
•“He will enter peaceably into the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.” Antiochus E pursued a novel plan for gaining the Egyptian-controlled provinces. He moved into the parts of the kingdom that were the richest. Then he did something that no other Seleucid king had ever done. Antiochus IV spread around some of the spoils from his war campaigns to secure the loyalty of the people. The historical book of I Maccabees states that he spent much on the public (I Mac. 3:30). It is even reported that he would go into the streets and throw money to the citizens there. However, this was only the beginning of Antiochus IV's plan. Using his cunning, he visited Egyptian strongholds to find out their power. Went out with his military and plundered and gave wealth to the troops, no one did this previously in his family because it’s likely he got this idea when he was raised in Rome. They have victory and try to kill and persecute Jews but only lasts for a time.
•“Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. 26 His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed.” In 170BC, Antiochus went against Egypt, they tried to fight but they failed, he took a good chunk of their land, because Ptolemy the 6th was given bad advice by his counselors. He was only young at the time. There was likely a plot as he was told to flee but as he was caught and his brother took over and became king.
•“both of these king’s hearts shall be bent on evil, they’ll speak lies at the same table but it won’t prosper for the end will come at the appointed time.” There were multiple meetings at Memphis with Antiochus IV and Ptolemy VI. Antiochus IV professed his great friendship to his nephew and concern for his interests, but his true plan was to weaken Egypt by setting the brothers against one another. Conversely, Ptolemy VI professed gratitude to his uncle for the interest he took in his affairs. All the while, Ptolemy VI sought to smooth over things with his brother Ptolemy VII so they could join forces against their deceitful uncle, Antiochus IV.
“The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.” He attacked the Jews multiple times, with his heart being angry with the holy covenant not just the area and people. He killed about 80,000, took 40k as prisoner and sold 40k more. He plundered temple in Israel and stripped the gold off the walls. Stole utensils, cups, tables.
•“Then at the appointed time he will once again go toward the south to invade, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from Cyprus will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.” In 168BC he goes back, when out in the fields of Alexandria, delegation from Rome meets him, this is where the phrase ‘line in the sand’ comes from. Antiochus meets with the roman representative, who says stop this fight or you’ll be at war with Rome. AE says let me go talk to advisers, the representative draws a circle around AE in the sand and says you’re not stepping out until you give me an answer. AE remembers what happened to his father so he says no and leaves in a rage. Takes it out on the Jews because among other reasons, they were on his way home. Does all sorts of things against Israel here, altars to Zeus, sells high priesthood, wanted to turn it into a Greek religion, forbids Judaism. Commands them to eat pork.
•“His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.” Puts idol of Zeus, he links himself to Zeus. Pig sacrificed there. he stopped sacrifices. Judas Maccabee is what the verse is talking about who led the successful rebellion.
•“Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere.” Describes Maccabean revolt nicely. Only a small portion of soldiers with Judas Maccabee were faithful.
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