Civil War: Just as God Said It Would Happen

Verses 5-12 record the period of Ptolemaic or Egyptian dominance. “The king of the South” (v. 5) is a reference to Ptolemy I Soter (323–285 BC), the ruler of Egypt and a general under Alexander. “One of his commanders” alludes to Seleucus I Nicator (312/311–280 BC), who fled (in 316 BC) to Ptolemy Soter to serve under him, but later abandoned him and returned to the northern kingdom. There he greatly increased his power, eventually controlling more territory than Ptolemy. His kingdom included Babylonia, Syria, and Media, the largest of all the divisions of the Greek Empire.

Conflicts would continue between the kingdoms of the Ptolemies (Egypt) and the Seleucids (Syria). Ptolemy I died in 285 BC, and war continued under his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC), who according to tradition commissioned the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek—called the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX). Finally, Ptolemy II made a treaty of peace with the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus II Theos (261–246 BC, grandson of Seleucus) around 250 BC. Verse 6 refers to this alliance.

Berenice, Ptolemy’s daughter (“the daughter of the king of the South”), was arranged to marry Antiochus (“the king of the North”) “to seal the agreement” between the two kingdoms (v. 6). Marriages for political expediency have been going on for a long time. However, Antiochus was already married to a woman named Laodice. The former wife and woman scorned took revenge and succeeded in murdering Antiochus, Berenice, and their child. Berenice, therefore, “will not retain power.”

Verse 7 refers to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–221 BC), who succeeded his father, Philadelphus, to the throne of Egypt. In retaliation for his sister’s murder, Ptolemy III attacked Syria (“the king of the North”) with a great army. This war lasted from 246 to 241 BC. Ptolemy captured and looted the Seleucid capital of Antioch, “the fortress of the king of the North.” Ptolemy seized Syria’s “gods” and other valuables (v. 8). He also returned to Egypt with treasures, including sacred idols that had been taken by the Persian monarch Cambyses in 524 BC.

“The king of the North” is the subject of verse 9. Apparently (we have no further information) he attempted an invasion of Egypt, but the campaign was brief. He would “return to his own land.”

The Syrian king Seleucus II died in 226 BC, but his sons, Seleucus III Ceraunus (226–223 BC) and Antiochus III (the Great; 223–187 BC), continued the conflicts with the Ptolemies (v. 10). Seleucus III was murdered after a brief three-year reign, and his brother Antiochus III came to power. He was called “the Great” because of his military successes, and in 219–218 BC he campaigned in Phoenicia and Palestine, part of the Ptolemaic Empire (“as far as [the king of the South’s] fortress”).

In response, the “infuriated” (v. 11) Ptolemy IV Philopater (221–203 BC) launched a counterattack. Ptolemy would win a great victory over Antiochus and the Syrians at Raphia (in Palestine) in 217 BC. Because of this victory, Ptolemy “will become arrogant” (v. 12). The Egyptian army slaughtered “tens of thousands” of the Syrian troops in the battle, though the Ptolemaic triumph would not continue.

The text implies in verse 11 that God gave the king of the South, Egypt, its victory. However, as the human heart is so easily inclined to do, the Egyptian king became “arrogant,” and his heart was “exalted” (v. 12 ESV). He became proud, and we all know how God deals with proud men and women!

Verse 13 and following change direction and describe the period of Seleucid supremacy. Approximately fifteen years after the Egyptians slaughtered the Syrians (202 BC), Antiochus III again invaded Ptolemaic territories with a huge army (v. 13). The occasion for this invasion was the death of Ptolemy IV in 203 BC and the crowning of his four- to six-year-old son, Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203–181 BC), as the new Egyptian ruler.

Among those who “will rise up against the king of the South” (v. 14) were Philip V of Macedon and revolutionaries within Egypt. There were also “violent ones among [Daniel’s] own people,” which here refers to those Jews who aided Antiochus. These Israelites “will assert themselves” against Egypt “to fulfill a vision,” possibly the prophecy recorded here. The fulfillment of the prediction was not the intention of these persons, but it was nevertheless the result. “But [those who sided with Antiochus] will fail.” Their defeat came at the hands of the Egyptian General Scopas, who was himself eventually defeated. Antiochus III’s Syrian forces advanced against Egypt at the Battle of Panium (now called Banian, near the area of the Caesarea Philippi mentioned in the Gospels) in 199 BC and won a resounding victory (v. 15). They pursued the Egyptians south and captured Sidon, the “well-fortified city,” where General Scopas finally surrendered in 198 BC. The South had suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of the North.

With the defeat of the Egyptians at Sidon, Antiochus acquired complete control over Phoenicia and Palestine, and he “will do whatever he wants” (v. 16). Indeed “no one can oppose him.” Although Palestine had come under Antiochus’s control for a brief time previously (ca. 219–217 BC), it would now become a permanent possession of the Syrian Empire. The phrase “with total destruction in his hand” emphasizes Antiochus III’s complete power over the “beautiful land” (cf. 8:9; Ezek 20:6). David Helm reminds us,

Earlier in Daniel we came across the phrase “the glorious [beautiful] land” (8:9) and we will see it again in this chapter (11:41). In both instances it refers to Israel, to Jerusalem and the city of God. (Daniel for You, 192)

This is important because it sets the stage for the reign of terror to follow under the Syrian Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC).

The Syrians forced terms of peace on the Egyptian king (v. 17). To seal the deal, Antiochus gave his daughter Cleopatra (not the Cleopatra who married Mark Antony over a hundred years later) to Ptolemy V as a wife. Antiochus hoped that through Cleopatra he could gain further control of Egypt. However, his plan did not succeed. Cleopatra loved her husband more than her father and supported the Egyptian cause completely.

Verses 18-19 prophesy Antiochus’s defeat and ignominious end. Having defeated the Egyptians in 197 BC or shortly thereafter, Antiochus turned “his attention to the coasts and islands,” or countries around the Mediterranean. After Antiochus had some initial success, Lucius Cornelius Scipio was sent against him by the Roman government. This is the commander who “will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.” In 191 BC the Romans, fighting with their Greek allies, routed the Syrians at Thermopylae and forced them to withdraw from Greece and flee to Asia Minor. Thirty thousand Roman troops pursued Antiochus into Asia and defeated his much larger army of seventy thousand at the Battle of Magnesia near Smyrna (Turkey) in 190 BC. After this humiliating defeat, Antiochus returned to his country, where he was killed by an angry mob in 187 BC as he sought to pillage the temple of Zeus (Bel) at Elymais (11:19). He indeed stumbled, fell, and was no more.

The son and successor of Antiochus III was Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 BC), who sent a “tax collector” (Heliodorus) to collect money to pay the thousand-talent indemnity demanded annually by the Romans as part of the settlement for Syria’s surrender to Rome (v. 20). Seleucus IV reigned only a few years and was not killed by an angry mob (“in anger”) like his father or “in battle.” Heliodorus, his tax collector and prime minister, evidently seeking to gain the throne for himself, poisoned the king (possibly aided by Antiochus IV).

The stage is set for the antichrist figure Antiochus IV Epiphanes in verses 21-35. History has unfolded just as God said it would. Kingdoms and their despots come and go. They live and die. They win and lose. And our great God in heaven watches it all and laughs (Ps 2:4)!

This is an unusual and unique passage to be sure. God is never mentioned by name, and there is a lot of unfamiliar imagery for our Western twenty-first-century minds to grasp. Asking five basic theological and practical questions (which we should ask in some manner of every text) can help us get at what God wants us to understand from this portion of the Bible that he inspired.

Our God is sovereign and omniscient, knowing the future to the smallest detail. He can predict the future with pinpoint accuracy. Back in Daniel 4:17 we were taught, “The Most High is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives [them] to anyone he wants and sets the lowliest of people over [them].” He is the one breaking and dividing and uprooting in Chapter 11, verse 4. These earthly rulers are mere pawns in the sovereign hands of an omnipotent and providential God.

Man in his depravity, pride, and sin has a bloodlust for power and possessions. He fights and wars, doing “whatever he wants” if he can. Might makes right. Man exalts his heart and inflates his sense of self-worth. Given the opportunity, he will trample over others with little or no regard for those who get hurt in the process. This is the story of human history since the fall, and it will continue to be our legacy until the return of God’s King and the inauguration of his kingdom.

This passage and the one that follows (11:21-45) must be read in the context of Daniel 7:13-14 and 9:24-27. There we see the Son of Man coming in glory to receive from the Ancient of Days a kingdom that will not pass away or ever be destroyed. His kingdom is not a fly-by-night empire that is here today and gone tomorrow, an empire and kingdom that is little more than dust in the wind! Further, the anointed ruler of Daniel 9 does what no piddly, earthly potentate can do. He brings rebellion to an end, puts a stop to sin, wipes away iniquity, and brings in everlasting righteousness. What a contrast are these power hungry dictators with the humble King from Galilee who put the needs of others far ahead of his own.

In Christ pride gives way to humility, and wanting more and more gives way to giving and serving others. A passion to build my kingdom gives way to a passion to build God’s kingdom!

Learn from the mistakes and sins of men and women from the past who pursued earthly gain and not heavenly reward. Avoid the pitfalls of pride and greed; instead, pursue Christ and his traits of humility, generosity, and service. You won’t act, look, or live like the kings of Daniel 11. You will, however, begin to look and live more and more like the King of kings and Lord of lords.