Dive into the profound and historical journey through Daniel chapter 11, where the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes illuminates the longstanding struggles faced by the Jewish people. Discover why these events continue to resonate through history, marking the Jewish plight as both immediate and prophetic in nature. As nations clashed, the remnant remained steadfast, echoing a timeless struggle against oppression that speaks volumes to the enduring spirit of faith.
00:23:41 Continuation of Antiochus and the Revolt Analysis
SPEAKER 03 :
If you could explain to the Jewish people why they’ve suffered so much, you’d have to go back to Daniel’s vision. Why have the Jewish people suffered so much? Why are they always the brunt of attack? Why does everybody want their land? Why does everybody try to harm them? Why do we have skinheads and pro-Nazi people in this country? Why did Hitler want to exterminate six million of these Jews? All the way through history, the Jews have been suffering the indignation of God for all of their rebellion against him.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. Today we’re stepping into Daniel chapter 11, verses 21 to 35, where a deceitful, God-hating tyrant named Antiochus rises to power. He defies God, defiles the temple, and divisively triggers a revolt. But in the midst of the madness, a remnant stands firm. Well, don’t miss this gripping start to Antiochus and the Revolt. It’s the battle of truth against tyranny. Stay with us. Day one of Antiochus and the Revolt kicks off in mere moments.
SPEAKER 02 :
First, though, here’s David with a quick word. I need to say something to you personally, all of you who are listeners to Hope for Today and love our program. We’re really hurting financially. I wouldn’t tell you unless it were true. and it has nothing to do with getting a lot of money for the people who work here, no. We just have to pay our regular bills to stay on the radio, and we need your support. I’ve always felt that the honest way of doing God’s work is tell people what the need is and pray like crazy that God would open the hearts and pocketbooks of His people. So right now, we need your help. If you can just set aside a little bit, maybe you’re a regular supporter of this ministry, and we thank you for it, but we just need a little bit more right now. And thank you for your prayers for us. Thank you for your gifts. I know that they are because you love the Word of God. This ministry is committed to the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, David. And boy, that sure does apply to today. And friend, if you can help, call us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S. And in Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE, Bible by the numbers 24253, or contribute online at davidhawking.org. Let’s get into the Word.
SPEAKER 03 :
21 to 35, Antiochus and the Jewish Revolt. The vision we’re talking about began in chapter 10, verse 1, and it goes all the way through chapter 12. It tells us about history from the time of the breakup of Alexander the Great’s empire all the way to the end of the tribulation period, which is still future from our day. And in the middle of this, there is a tremendous discussion about a king of the north whose name is Antiochus Epiphanes. In this whole chapter, we have blow by blow the battles between the north and south divisions of Alexander the Great’s empire. The north were the Seleucids, and they controlled Syria. And the south was the Ptolemies, and they controlled Egypt. And they fought over Israel, and Israel suffered greatly under these constant battles. That is a part of what God predicted would be the indignation for the people of Israel, not only then, but throughout all of history. At the end of these great battles, we have a king who is in fact called the abomination of desolation. He becomes the historical personage of ancient past days that reminds the Jews that there will be another man like Antiochus, whom we call the Antichrist, who will make a covenant with them as well, and will also be an abomination of desolation, and will do exactly the same as Antiochus did many years ago. Now I want you to look at three things with a few points under each. One, we’re going to look at his deception in verses 21 to 24. The same thing will be true of the Antichrist. Number two, we’re going to look at his destruction of Egypt in verses 25 to 27. And by the way, the Antichrist is going to do that as well. And then third, we’re going to look at his desolation of Israel. And the Antichrist will also do that to Israel in the future. As we come to his deception, I want you to notice four things in verses 21 to 24. First of all, his character. Verse 21 says he is a vile person. He was so vile that it’s hard to describe him. You don’t know where to start. He was so wicked, so awful, so corrupt, so polluted. It’s very hard to describe this man. He took the title Theos Epiphanes, which means God manifest in the flesh. Now is that an abomination or is that abomination? Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. But this man took the title Theos Epiphanes. Number two, the circumstances that brought him to power. Verse 21. And let me tell you the history and you look at the verse. Antiochus Epiphanes reigned from 175 to 164 B.C., by the way, and according to history, had no legitimate claim to the throne. Read verse 21 carefully. He was the late king’s brother, a younger son of Antiochus the Great, and the late king, Seleucus Philopator, had two sons, Demetrius and an infant named Antiochus. By various intrigues and political maneuverings, he gained the throne. Are you reading verse 21? I read you out of history. Verse 21 says exactly the same thing. To whom they will not give the honor of royalty, which was true, he had no legitimate claim to the throne, but he’ll come in peaceably and seize the kingdom by intrigue, which is exactly what happened. He did not do it by force, but did it by a political intrigue and maneuvering. Now, the third thing about his deception deals with his conflicts. Please notice verse 22, which says, “…with the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.” Antiochus, according to history, routed the forces of Egypt in 170 B.C. in battles between a place called Pelusium and the Cajun Mountains. The Prince of the Covenant is a reference to the high priest whose name was Onias III, who was deposed by Antiochus and later murdered. He was replaced by his brother Jason, who along with Antiochus’ encouragement, wanted Greek culture established in Israel. The fourth thing I would mention about his deception is his craftiness. Please notice verse 23, which says, After the league is made with him, by the way, this is all true of the Antichrist as well. After the league is made with him, he shall act deceitfully. According to chapter 9, the Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel, and he’ll break it also in the middle of the week. He’ll act deceitfully. He’ll come up and become strong with a small number of people. Let me give you a little history. Antiochus Epiphanes adopted a policy of friendship with Egypt. He pretended to support his nephew, who was Ptolemy Philometer, against another of his nephews, who was Ptolemy Euregatus. However, it was merely a cover to advance his own interests. Very interesting, because in verse 24, it says, That is, in fact, what happened. Once again, keep looking at verse 24, and I tell you the history. Antiochus Epiphanes greatly plundered his conquered lands, but he differed from all the other kings before him by distributing the spoils lavishly to the people, thus winning friends to himself. He also used the device of keeping a strong garrison at Pelusium on the border of Egypt, so that his entry into Egypt at any time he wanted would be unobstructed. Once again, the Bible is most powerful in its details. Now secondly, look at the destruction of Egypt in verses 25 to 27. It’s described in some detail in the Bible, and it happened exactly that way. Keep focusing on the verses, and I’ll tell you the history. Verse 25, Antiochus Epiphanes made a second expedition against Egypt, and he defeated Ptolemy Phiskon. Verse 26, one of the reasons for the Egyptian defeat was apparently the treason by some of Ptolemy’s men, and it’s known that some of his supporters did desert him and follow Antiochus. In verse 27, the two kings probably are Antiochus Epiphanes and Ptolemy Philometer, who presumably were working together to overcome Ptolemy Phiscon, However, they both were more interested in their own successes. And if you read that verse carefully, it’s very interesting. It says they speak lies at the same table. Now let’s move to the crux of what we want to see as it relates to the Antichrist, and that’s his desolation of Israel, verses 28 to 35. Now mind you, whenever the south goes up to invade the north, and the north comes down to invade the south, they are all walking straight through Israel. Israel suffers every time. And it is a time of indignation and persecution for the nation of Israel that Daniel says will continue until the end of the tribulation period. Very interestingly. If you could explain to the Jewish people why they’ve suffered so much, you’d have to go back to Daniel’s vision. Why have the Jewish people suffered so much? Why are they always the brunt of attack? Why does everybody want their land? Why does everybody try to harm them? Why do we have skinheads and pro-Nazi people in this country? Why did Hitler want to exterminate six million of these Jews? All the way through history, the Jews have been suffering the indignation of God for all of their rebellion against him. By the way, the rabbis, in trying to comfort their people in the synagogue, teach that the suffering that they’ve experienced culminated and was final with Hitler. That’s what they believe. So in Isaiah 53, where it says he was wounded for our transgressions, they teach that it doesn’t refer to the individual of the Messiah, but refers to the Jewish people as a servant of Jehovah. The Jewish people were wounded for their transgressions. The Jewish people were bruised for their iniquities. The chastisement of their peace was upon them, and with their stripes they are healed. The trouble with all that is, is that it’s singular, he, not plural, they. But the Jewish people interpret it that way, because obviously they don’t want to suffer anymore. The times of the Gentiles begin in 586 B.C. with the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. The times of the Gentiles refer primarily to the Temple Mount in the eyes of Orthodox Jews. I ask you today, do the Jewish people who conquered this area, do they in fact control the Temple Mount? The answer is absolutely no. It’s in the hands of the great Muslim council. And it is an abomination to all the Jewish people. They keep writing letters to the Jerusalem Post and others and say, how come we conquered the whole place, but the Temple Mount is not ours to do what we want to? And how come there is a Muslim shrine desecrating the place? You see, the times of the Gentiles are still here as far as the Jewish people are concerned. Even though they have retaken the old city and their land, they don’t have the Temple Mount. And the great Muslim council rules over the Temple Mount, and the Jewish people can’t even go into the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock. The times of the Gentiles where Jerusalem is trodden down, the Temple Mount’s in the control of Gentiles, happened in 586 B.C. and will not end until the end of the Tribulation Period. and then the kingdom will be returned to Israel, and then the Temple Mount will have the Millennial Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48, built by the Messiah. Evidently, according to the book of Revelation, there will be a temple before that. Some sort of negotiated settlement to appease the Jews has to come. We are told in the book of Daniel that the Antichrist will negotiate a settlement that will restore the temple sacrificial system for the Jews on the Temple Mount. My personal opinion is you’re going to see both the Dome of the Rock and a Jewish temple on the same location and guaranteed by some sort of peacekeeping force of United Nations personnel or the United States itself. You watch it. I’m not the prophet or the son of a prophet. I’m just telling you that’s what Daniel said is going to happen. Jews are going to have a temple. And a lot of people have said, well, we get rid of the Dome of the Rock. I don’t see how it’s going to happen. Because Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the end of the tribulation period. So take a look closely at the desolation of Israel because this is the historical type. Even Jews say this. Even Jewish rabbis teach this. So we Christians are not in competition with them on this passage. They believe that Antiochus Epiphanes is a type of the Antichrist. Let’s look at five things. First, his attitude toward the Holy Covenant. Verse 28, while returning to his land with great riches… after his defeat of Egypt, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant, so he shall do damage and return to his own land. The Holy Covenant is God’s covenant with Israel. And God gave that land to Israel. And he’s going to be moving against that Holy Covenant and do damage and return to his own land. Let me give you the history. Antiochus Epiphanes, according to history, returned from Egypt with much plunder. And he marched through Judea only to discover… that an insurrection happened by the brother of Onias III, who was the prince of the covenant that we talked about earlier, whom he deposed and murdered, and put his brother Jason in his place, who tried to bring in Hellenistic culture. Jason, because of the pressure of Jewish people, he has no rightful claim to the high priesthood, but they are upset with him, and so an insurrection is led by Jason. Antiochus comes back through the land, surprises them, and now puts down the insurrection led by Jason, kills a lot of Jews, and takes the opportunity to plunder the temple. So the abomination has started. Antiochus plundered the temple, took a lot of the things away that they had put in the temple as temple vessels. Number two, notice not only his attitude toward the Holy Covenant, but his attempt to invade Egypt again. Verse 29 says that they appointed time he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter time. Verse 29, look at it carefully. Antiochus made a third exhibition against Egypt in 168 B.C. without the success of his previous invasions. This campaign was directed against the two Ptolemy brothers, Philometer and Phiscon, who had become reconciled to each other. The third thing I want you to notice is his anger against Israel in verse 30. It says, ships from Cyprus shall come against him. Therefore he shall be grieved. Who are these ships from Cyprus? Interesting that history records that the Romans are the ones who came. Roman ships. The Roman Republic has now got Cyprus. Very interesting. Ships from Cyprus shall come against him. Imagine the Bible predicting that when long before at the time of Daniel, when it was written, you didn’t even have such a situation existing. And now the Bible says, predicting several hundred years ahead of time, 400 years ahead of time, that there are going to be ships from Cyprus. Nobody even knew there would be ships on Cyprus, much less coming from Cyprus. And it says, Therefore he’ll be grieved and return in rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. In other words, he would pay attention to them, but he would plunder those that will be faithful to God’s law. Let me tell you a little more history. Verse 30. The two Ptolemy brothers that I spoke about in Egypt sought the aid of the Romans. They actually appealed to Rome. The Roman Republic began in 705 B.C., so they’re well on their way. They’ve been involved. They know about Antiochus Epiphanes, and frankly, he was not held in high regard by the Romans, but they didn’t know what to do with him because he’s very powerful and strong. The empire of Rome did not start until 30 B.C. under Octavian, who became Augustus Caesar. But these two Ptolemies sought the aid of the Romans, and they responded by sending a fleet to contact Antiochus at the siege of Alexandria, Egypt, which on the north side of Egypt, if you’re looking at a map, as it flows into the Mediterranean, the Nile River. Popilius Launus, don’t forget to memorize these names because there will be an exam. Popilius Launus commanded the Roman ships to And he delivered to Antiochus the demand, listen carefully, it’s very interesting how Rome got involved, the demand of the Roman Senate that he stop any further aggression. Coppelius drew a circle in the sand in his confrontation with Antiochus. He met him. And before they went at it, Antiochus was a little bit concerned, naturally, because he didn’t want to bring the wrath of Rome on him. But Peleus drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and commanded him to reach his decision before he stepped out of the circle. Well, Antiochus unwillingly agreed. And he then returned home by way of Judea and gathered information concerning those Jews who would support him. Did you read verse 30 carefully? So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. He knew that Rome’s telling him, you stop plundering people, stop hurting those Jewish people there, which is kind of interesting in the light of Rome’s eventual takeover. Stop hurting them. This all started, Rome’s involvement, right here at Antiochus Epiphanes. And when we pick up our New Testaments and start reading, we’ve got Rome in total power and control of the land of Israel. But it all started right here, and you’re back 175 to 164 B.C. So it didn’t take long, within 150 years maximum, Rome was in total charge of the land of Israel.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. Just before David returns, Matt’s here, and we have a special resource offer that you won’t want to miss. What is the central message of Revelation, and how close are we to the events portrayed in this final book of the Bible? Well, if you really enjoy digging deep into the book of Revelation… Then you’ll certainly appreciate my dad’s book on Revelation titled… The book of Revelation, Understanding the Future. Matt, or simply Revelation, Understanding the Future. Yep. Revelation is a critical book of the Bible because it tells us what to expect as this age draws to a close. Are we to be fearful about the future, Matt, or just prepared? Right. And what should we do to prepare for these final days? Will the rise of the Antichrist be sudden? Will his rule be long? Yeah. Well, if you’d like to know the answers to these questions, get your copy of Revelation, Understanding the Future. And shares even more in-depth details and insights. Exactly, exactly. And another most helpful tool we have for you is David’s original sermon notes, his outlines from his study of Revelation. These are the notes that he used as he preached the sermons, Matt. Yeah, key points, references, and outline points will help you track along and get the most out of your daily study time in this upcoming series. Well, the Revelation sermon notes are just $10 by download. You In fact, if you purchase them online, you can download them, get them right away, or PDF, CD. Yeah, call us in Canada at 1-888-75BIBLE. In the U.S., call us at 1-800-75BIBLE. Well, before I forget, right now, you can get David’s complete audio series through the book of Daniel. This is what we’re sharing currently on radio, and it’s just $30 for the full MP3 set. All 17 messages in our current radio series, just $30 on MP3. To order, call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also purchase online at davidhawking.org. And if you purchase on the website, you can also download it on the website and you’ll have it in just minutes. I may recall that David spoke to us at the head of the broadcast about the financial need of Hope for Today right now. If God is leading you to help, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S, 8P1. Or call us in Canada at 888-75-BIBLE, or in the U.S. at 800-75-BIBLE, Bible by the numbers 24253. And you can always give online at davidhawking.org. And thank you for standing with us in prayer, or if God directs, financially as well. Well, once again, here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Daniel chapter 11 is really remarkable. And there’s a lot of it that deals with Antiochus and the Jewish revolt against him. According to verse 25 of Daniel 11, Antiochus made a second expedition against Egypt. That was true. And he defeated Ptolemy Physcon. One of the reasons for the Egyptian defeat was apparently treason by Ptolemy’s men. It’s known that some of his supporters did desert him. The two kings probably that are mentioned are Antiochus Epiphanes and Ptolemy Philometer, presumably working together to overcome Ptolemy Phiscon. However, they were both more interested in their own successes, that’s for sure. And starting at verse 28, you have his desolation of Israel. And Antiochus Epiphanes returned from Egypt with much plunder and marched through Judea. He put down an insurrection led by Jason and took the opportunity to plunder the temple. his attempt to invade Egypt again. He had a third expedition against Egypt in 168 BC, but he didn’t have the success of previous invasions. But his anger against Israel is what we want to look at, and you can start by looking at verse 30. Plan to be with us for our next broadcast. God bless you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you, David. And friend, if you missed any part of today’s broadcast or anything this week, you can always go to DavidHawking.org and review our most recent programs for a limited time. And while you’re on the website, take a look at all the great Bible study resources David has available for you, both video and audio studies and free downloads as well. just waiting for you at davidhawking.org. Share that web address with someone you know who needs the encouragement of God’s Word. Well, next time, the defiance deepens. Antiochus turns up the heat with blasphemy, brutality, and a mission to erase faith from the earth. But in the fire, the faithful rise. Well, don’t miss this powerful continuation of Antiochus and the Revolt in Daniel chapter 11, right here on Hope for Today.
Dive into the profound and historical journey through Daniel chapter 11, where the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes illuminates the longstanding struggles faced by the Jewish people. Discover why these events continue to resonate through history, marking the Jewish plight as both immediate and prophetic in nature. As nations clashed, the remnant remained steadfast, echoing a timeless struggle against oppression that speaks volumes to the enduring spirit of faith.
