Daniel 11 Footnotes

11:45 Some interpreters maintain that the author erroneously predicted that Antiochus IV would “meet his end” in Palestine when, in reality, the Syrian king died in Persia. Therefore they take this passage (which they view as original with the author of Daniel) to be a precise indicator that the book was written in 164 BC, just before Antiochus’s death. Of course, such critics disavow the validity of future prophecy and have no compunctions about declaring that the author was mistaken. But if the king in question is not Antiochus IV but the end-time ruler who will persecute the faithful, no historical difficulty exists. The apostle John also affirms that this figure, whoever he is, will meet his end in the land of Israel (Rv 16:13-16; 19:19-20; see Ezk 39:4).