September 12: THE SHIFT FROM GREECE TO ROME (part 1)

For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment. Daniel 11:13

When Ptolemy IV died, the Egyptians attempted to keep his death a secret. Having a five-year-old on the throne certainly placed the nation in precarious circumstances. But the news inevitably leaked out . . . and when Antiochus III heard about it, his lingering grudge over the defeat at Raphia fueled the idea that this was an excellent opportunity to get revenge on Egypt. He mounted a sizable campaign, muster[ing] a multitude greater than at Raphia, and headed south, taking Gaza and seizing control of Palestine. With plans to press on into Egypt, he was met by the child-king’s army, led by the commander Scopas. Initially, the southern forces recaptured the southern part of Syria, Gaza, and Palestine, pushing the northern forces back up into the region of Lebanon.

But, just after the Scopas-led successes of the Egyptian forces, Antiochus III recombobulated and took another run southward. At a place called the Panium*, located near the mouth of the Jordan River, Antiochus met Scopas in battle. This was a decisive turning point in the war (201-200BC). Scopas and the Egyptian armies were pushed back down, losing control over Palestine permanently. Incredibly, those living in Jerusalem and Judea gleefully welcomed Syria’s rule.

Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall. v.14

Gabriel, speaking to Daniel, means the Jews when he says your people. The news of Ptolemy IV’s death and his successor, Ptolemy V—a small child—inspired a spirit of exploitation of the weakened circumstances of Egypt, a spirit that spread all across the northern regions and even took root among the Jews. To complicate matters in Egypt, civil unrest was steadily increasing. As a result, the king’s advisors led young Ptolemy V to make concessions among the Egyptian people in the hope of establishing a measure of peace**

Syria’s rule, though welcomed at first by the Jews, became even more oppressive than that of Egypt. Under the heavy hand of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) it reached a low point: in 168BC, on a return march from Egypt, he strode into Jerusalem to wield his power over the Jews. The slaughter and devastation he inflicted included robbing and polluting the temple; he sacrificed a pig on the altar and followed up by installing a wicked person in the high-priestly office. A prominent Jewish family (later called the Maccabees) led the Jews in a revolt against Syrian rule. They also organized a delegation of ambassadors and sent them to Rome (161BC) where they entered into an alliance with the Romans for protection. And, oh! How the people of God would come to regret it…!

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8 (see also Jeremiah 17:5-8)

*This place was later renamed Caesarea Philippi (see Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27).                                 

**These concessions are recorded on the Rosetta Stone, now in the British Museum.