11.0a- The evil king of Syria, first part:
(Related
to Antiochus IV Epiphanes)
In Daniel 11 verses 21
through 34 we read:
“21 The angel went on to explain: “The next
king of Syria will be an evil man who has no right to be king, but he will come
unexpectedly and seize power by trickery. 22 Anyone who opposes him, even God's
High Priest, will be swept away and wiped out. 23 By making treaties, he will
deceive other nations, and he will grow stronger and stronger, even though he
rules only a small nation. 24 He will invade a wealthy province without warning
and will do things that none of his ancestors ever did. Then he will divide
among his followers the goods and property he has captured in war. He will make
plans to attack fortresses, but his time will soon run out.
25 “He will boldly raise a large army to attack
the king of Egypt, who will prepare to fight back with a huge and powerful
army. But the king of Egypt will be deceived and will not be successful. 26 His
closest advisers will ruin him. Many of his soldiers will be killed, and his
army will be wiped out. 27 Then the two kings will sit down to eat at the same
table, but their motives will be evil, and they will lie to each other. They
will not get what they want, because the time for it has not yet come. 28 The
king of Syria will return home with all the loot he has captured, determined to
destroy the religion of God's people. He will do as he pleases and then return
to his own land.
29 “Later on he will invade Egypt again, but
this time things will turn out differently. 30 The Romans will come in ships
and oppose him, and he will be frightened.
“Then he will turn back in a rage and try to
destroy the religion of God's people. He will follow the advice of those who
have abandoned that religion. 31 Some of his soldiers will make the Temple
ritually unclean. They will stop the daily sacrifices and set up The Awful
Horror.
32 By deceit the king will win the support of
those who have already abandoned their religion, but those who follow God will
fight back. 33 Wise leaders of the people will share their wisdom with many
others. But for a while some of them will be killed in battle or be burned to
death, and some will be robbed and made prisoners. 34 While the killing is
going on, God's people will receive a little help, even though many who join
them will do so for selfish reasons.