‘And when He [Ptolemy IV 221 B.C.E.- 204 B.C.E.] had taken away The Multitude [4.000 Seleucid Infantry captured at The Battle of Raphia (217 B.C.E.)];

His [Ptolemy IV’s] heart shall be lifted up;

And He [Ptolemy IV] shall cast down many The Thousands [40,000 Jews living in Egypt];

But He [Ptolemy IV] shall not be strengthened by It.’ (Daniel 11:12)

After the retreat of Antiochus III back to Antioch in Syria (after The Battle of Raphia,) Ptolemy IV visited the cities of Coele-Syria and Palestine which had submitted to Him. Among many other cities, in His progress, He came to Jerusalem. Ptolemy IV desired to enter The Court of The Temple and offer sacrifices as He had done in other cities, but this was The City of GOD, and at this Temple, only The Priests could offer sacrifices at its altar, and only The High Priest, once a year, could enter THE HOLY OF HOLIES. The whole city cried out to GOD against Ptolemy and He was forced to yield to their entreaties not to blaspheme and desecrate The Sacred Precincts.

Upon His return to Egypt, Ptolemy IV was so angered against the thousands of Jews living in His land that He determined to slaughter them in the most cruel manner using drugged elephants to slay them in a giant hippodrome.

THE GOD OF THE JEWS, just as HE had intervened in Jerusalem, when Ptolemy had desired to enter where no Gentile could come and sacrifice where only priests could sacrifice, intervened in the most extraordinary ways to protect HIS People dwelling in Egypt and to purify Them from compromising with Ptolemy’s blasphemous intent to force them to worship the pagan god, Dionysus.

Not only did a sleep of forgetfulness come upon Ptolemy IV, but two mighty angels appeared and protected the assembled Jews awaiting martyrdom.

‘III Macabbees’ is a source for this incident in the life of Ptolemy IV. The events chronicled in the book took place before the Time of The Macabbees – which is confusing. Of course, modern scholars scoff at the contents of the book but as Co-Co, The Chimpanzee Schoolmaster, argues, they ‘sit in The Seat of The Scornful’ (Psalm 1:1).

Nevertheless, the Jews in Egypt, when Ptolemy IV repented of his evil intents, were loyal to their Pharoah and desired only good for His Kingdom, but Ptolemy IV, for many years, had trusted in the most vicious and cruel of counsellors, Sosibus and Agathocles and Agathocles’ sister Agathoclea. Not only had they advised him early in his reign to rid himself of any blood rivals to His throne, but at the end of His reign, it would appear that these same ambitious and evil-minded counsellors murdered Ptolemy IV and his wife Arsinoe III, and proclaimed themselves regents over the land. (Ptolemy IV’s son Ptolemy V was too young to rule.

Perhaps, Ptolemy should have studied THE WORD OF GOD (which one of his ancestors had had translated into Greek) and understood that:

‘THE WICKED WALK ON EVERY SIDE, WHEN THE VILEST MEN ARE EXALTED’ (PSALM 12:8)

Egypt also under Ptolemy IV’s rule saw the native Egyptians revolt and half of his lands come under the dominion of Horwennefer, a usurper from Southern Egypt. Ptolemy IV, despite his victory at The Battle of Raphia, and his attempts to remain of friendly terms with the other powers of the world:

• Carthage
• Rome
• Macedonia
• The Greek City States

saw the beginning of the decline of Ptolemy I’s once great kingdom. After Ptolemy IV’s death in 204 B.C.E., Antiochus III waged war against Egypt again and this time he was victorious (as Daniel 11:13 proclaims).

Next Week: Daniel 11:13.