September 13: THE SHIFT FROM GREECE TO ROME (part 2)

So the king of the North will come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. Daniel 11:15

Antiochus Epiphanes, king of the North, had aggressively extended his military campaigns deep into Egypt. Surrounded by imminent danger, the Egyptians knew that even their choice troops were outdone by the forces of the Syrian king—so they made a desperate appeal to Rome for help. But before Rome could respond, Antiochus Epiphanes had marched over all of Egypt with the exception of the city of Alexandria. As he prepared to besiege Alexandria in 168BC, an envoy of the Roman Senate, Popilius Laenas, confronted him, saying: “Withdraw immediately, or consider yourself at war with Rome.” Antiochus initially responded that he would reply after consulting with his officers. With his cane, Popilius Laenas drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus Epiphanes and specified that he must give his answer before leaving the circle.

In this profound moment, Antiochus Epiphanes came face-to-face with his own limitations of resources and power. In the wake of all the havoc and destruction for which he was responsible, he chose to yield to the Roman ultimatum.

But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power. v.16

When Rome [came] against the strongest Greek king, there was a marked change in rulership over the Mediterranean kingdoms: from Alexander’s divided Greek empire to the rising empire of Rome. The statement he [Rome] who comes against him [Greece] shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him carries the weight of the earlier descriptions (2:40; 7:7; 8:9) of the Roman power. He shall stand in the Glorious Land… This part of the prophecy came to be fulfilled in the decades leading up to the birth of Christ. For the most part, the people of God overlooked the arrival of the Messiah, though it had been prophesied in exquisite detail. What’s more, they were the possessors—in writing—of all of these wonderful “landmarks” of His coming. Like the skirmishing Greeks, God’s people were looking around instead of up, and arguing amongst themselves over inconsequential matters (a foreshadowing for us today).

In the year 63BC a Roman general, Pompey, intervened between a pair of Jewish brothers who were vying for power in Judea. After a fierce siege and much bloodshed that lasted three months, Pompey took possession of the temple fortress in Jerusalem, bringing the Glorious Land under Roman rule.

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see good when it comes. Jeremiah 17:5-6a