The following prophecies are taken from Daniel 11:5-32. Daniel was able to accurately foresee the events
centuries in advance which led to the rise of Antiochus with amazing precision.
PROPHECY: "The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger
than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power."
FULFILLMENT: The first king of the South is Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. The commander is Seleucus I Nicator.
PROPHECY: "After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king
of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those
days, she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her."
FULFILLMENT: Bernice, the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, married Antiochus II Theos (the king of the
North) who divorced his previous wife, Laodice, to marry her. After the death Ptolemy II, Laodice killed Bernice,
Antiochus, and their son.
PROPHECY: "One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the
North and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and be victorious."
FULFILLMENT: The one from her family line is Bernice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt who won a
victory over the king of the North, Seleucus II Callinicus.
PROPHECY: "He will also seize their gods, their metal images, and their valuable articles of silver and gold and
carry them off to Egypt. For some years, he will leave the king of the North alone"
FULFILLMENT: Ptolemy III did in fact take both the Syrian and Egyptian treasure previously taken by the
Persian King Cambyses when he conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. Ptolemy III then returned to Egypt and refrained
from any further attacks.
PROPHECY: "Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own
country."
FULFILLMENT: To recoup his losses, Seleucus tried to invade Egypt but failed miserably and was forced to
return home.
PROPHECY: "His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army which will sweep on like an irresistible
flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight
against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. When the army is carried off,
the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain
triumphant."
FULFILLMENT: The two sons of Seleucus II were Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III the Great. Antiochus
II was defeated by Ptolemy IV Philopater with the loss of almost 10,000 Syrian soldiers at the Raphian fortress in
southern Palestine.
PROPHECY: "The invader will do as he pleases. No one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself
in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus III attacked Egypt in 200 B.C. but was crushed by the king of the South, Ptolemy V
Epiphanes. Antiochus conquered Sidon and by 197 B.C., had taken control of Palestine.
PROPHECY: "He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the
king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans
will not succeed or help him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble
and fall to be seen no more."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus III made a peace treaty with Egypt in 194 B.C. and gave his daughter Cleopatra I as
a wife to Ptolemy V. Antiochus III moved north but was defeated in Asia Minor in 190 B.C. He was later killed
upon attempting to plunder the pagan temple of Elymais.
PROPHECY: "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however,
he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle."
FULFILLMENT: Seleucus IV Philopater was killed by Heliodorus, his own finance minister who had arranged the
murder.
PROPHECY: "He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will
invade the kingdom when its people feel secure and will seize it through intrigue."
FULFILLMENT: The preceding verses have all been leading up to the arrival of this "contemptible person" who
would come to be Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus IV. He stole the throne that rightfully belonged
to the son of Seleucus IV.
PROPHECY: "Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him. Both it and a prince of the covenant
will be destroyed."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus murdered the prince of the covenant Onias, the high priest, in 170 B.C.
PROPHECY: "After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will
rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his
fathers nor his forefathers did..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus made treaties with other nations through intrigue and deceit. He supported Ptolemy
Philometor against Ptolemy Euergetes for selfish reasons and made unexpected attacks on rich cities in times of
peace.
PROPHECY: "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of
the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army but he will not be able to stand because of the plots
devised against him. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealthy..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus' attacks on Egypt were successful due to his deceitful campaigns of turning certain
leaders against other leaders. Because of this tactic, he was able to plunder Egypt and return home with great
wealth.
PROPHECY: "...But his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return
to his own country."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus developed a hatred of the Jewish people and their law (the holy covenant). He
believed Greek culture was superior to all others and despised the Jews for their religion, language, and customs.
PROPHECY: "At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different
from what it was before. Ships of the western coast lands will oppose him and he will lose heart..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus invaded Egypt again but this time was unsuccessful when the ships of the western
coast lands defeated him.
PROPHECY: "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice.
Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus marched into Jerusalem, desecrated the temple by offering a pig on the temple alter,
stopped the daily sacrifices, and set up an image of the Greek god Zeus.
PROPHECY: "Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to
those who forsake the holy covenant. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the
people who know their God will firmly resist him."FULFILLMENT: Antiochus persecuted the Jews until many
finally submitted themselves to Greek culture and religion. Though the persecution continued, the faithful Jews
under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus waged warfare against him. Due to the resistance, Antiochus finally
retreated and the temple was restored.
CONCLUSION: This detailed prophecy served as a warning to future Jews that a tyrant would eventually appear
on the scene. This tyrant was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, as history shows.
Skeptic Interjection: Could the Daniel have been written after these events or could this account have been
added to the existing text?
Answer: The Book of Daniel is one of the most heatedly debated books of the Bible due to its prophetic
accuracy. I have heard a few critics say that to accept an early authorship of Daniel would be to accept the
existence of the Christian God. Because the detailed predictions were fulfilled to the letter, some believe these
events were recorded as history instead of prophecy. Because we will be discussing the Book of Daniel in the
future, we'll briefly touch on some of the points which provide evidence that a 6th century B.C. dating for these
passages is possible. Though the above prophecies were completed with the rise of Antiochus, Daniel uses the
tyrant to allude to a ruler that will arise in the distant future (believed to be the end-times Anti-Christ). When we
read further into the book of Daniel, we can see that the ruler mentioned in Daniel 11:36-45 and Daniel 8:9-12
does not fit Antiochus for a number of reasons:
- Antiochus did not "magnify himself above every god" nor did he "forsake the gods of his fathers." On the
contrary, his main purpose in persecuting the Jews was to force them to accept the Greek gods. - Antiochus did not destroy the temple. Though he desecrated the temple, it is was not destroyed until 70 A.
D. It is also believed the Jewish temple will one day be rebuilt in the end times. - The future tyrant is described as showing no regard [desire] for women. Some interpret this passage as
referring to a homosexual while others feel the anti-Christ's lust for power will override his physical
desires. But from what we know about Antiochus, neither of these descriptions are applicable. - Antiochus' military conquests do not match the feats described of the future ruler.
skewed. The author clearly uses Antiochus as a foreshadowing of this end-times ruler but history makes it certain
that many prophecies were not fulfilled at the time.
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