MP3: The Mighty Angels of Daniel 11 Continued
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista
The Irresistible Flood
Nathan Jones: Where we left off in Daniel 11:6, a ruler’s jealous ex-wife poisoned her rival. Now let’s travel on to verses 7-10 and see what became of the line of the murdered princess.
“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. He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.
Then the king of the North will invade the realm of 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.”
Daniel 11 began with one kingdom under Alexander the Great’s rule, but now the kingdom has been divided into four regions. The regional kings and their descendent’s spend all of their time bickering and fighting between themselves in order to gain the upper hand.
The murdered wife’s descendant became ruler of the South and was named Ptolemy Euergetes. His rival up in the North was named Callinicus. Euergetes plundered 40,000 talents of silver along with 205 idols, hauling the riches back to Egypt. In the meantime, he destroyed an immense swath of the Northern Kingdom.
Callinicus died from falling off of his horse. Once dead, Callinicus’ son, Antiochus the Great, arose as the new King of the North. He assembled 75,000 soldiers to “sweep on like an irresistible flood” as he marched to Egypt, and along the journey, stomped through Israel. The devastation inflicted upon Israel as rival armies battled back and forth across the Promised Land stands as a sad testament to the lust and rage of the Greek Empire. Israel was caught in the middle between these two feuding general’s royal lines, and unfortunately, Israel was raided almost every time the armies marched back and forth across the land bridge of Israel on their way to either Syria or Egypt.
Vic Batista: Family feuds often do not end well. This division reminds me of the time just before Jesus was born some 200 years after Antiochus the Great. King Herod’s rule split into four, with each son becoming a tetrarch. Family divisions among monarchies cause so much human suffering.
Nathan Jones: King Herod the Great was one of the most powerful kings in Israel’s history, primarily because he was backed by the power of the Roman Caesar. Herod descended from the line of the Edomites, meaning he was from the line of Esau. The Jewish people hated him because he wasn’t a Jew, and because he ruled with an iron first. Herod was the one who murdered all the babies in Bethlehem.
Unfortunately, Herod’s sons after him ruled quite ineptly, especially Archelaus. Caesar removed Archelaus off of his territorial control because he was so incompetent. The Roman Empire acted smartly, making sure that Herod’s descendants would never retain the same amount of power as their father, and so divide their control up into four regions as tetrarchs. Not too long after Jesus death, the Romans went ahead and got rid of the tetrarchs and placed their own governors in charge. No line from either Israel or Esau remained in power. But, as you said, Herod is a fast forwarding to Jesus’ time period about 200 years after the Daniel 11:7-10 prophecy.
The Enraged King
Nathan Jones: The sordid story continues on in the prophecies contained in Daniel 11:11-13.
“Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and will fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.”
As a result of Antiochus the Great, the King of the North, attacking Ptolemy Philometor, the King of the South, Philometor became enraged. He amassed 73,000 men, 5,000 calvary, and 73 war elephants. Picture Lord of the Rings here. Philometor fights back and wins big!
Several years, or seven years as in some translations, ended up actually being 13 years later. The King of the North raised another 75,000 fighting men whose armies returned to attack the South. Yet again, Israel unfortunately was caught in the middle and was terribly trampled on due to these battles.
Vic Batista: Just like a great Hollywood movie! What a lot of wondrous prophecies being uncovered.
Nathan Jones: I love that history corroborates Bible prophecy, and in so much detail. The Bible stands supreme being historically and archaeologically proven. Therefore, we can put our faith and trust in what the Word of God says concerning our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the real deal. As the Son of God, we can put our faith and trust in Him. Through Jesus’ promises concerning salvation, we can know that we will have an eternal life all thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
#History corroborates #BibleProphecy, and in so much detail. Click To TweetIn the fifty-second segment of this series on the mighty angels of Daniel, the two lines of kings continue to wage their centuries-long war!