“He [Antiochus IV (175 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E.)] shall enter Peaceably [By Prosperity],

even upon The Fattest [The Richest] Places of The Province.

And He [ Antiochus IV (171 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E.)] shall do That Which His Fathers have not done,

Nor His Father’s Fathers:

He shall scatter among Them The Prey [The Plunder}, and The Spoil [Booty], and Riches.

Yea!

And He shall forecast His Devices [Devise His Plans] against The Strong-Holds.

Even for a Time.”

(Daniel 11:24)

Unlike His father, Antiochus III (223 B.C.E. – 187 B.C.E.), and His Brother, Seleucus IV (187 B.C.E. -175 B.C.E.), Antiochus IV had sufficient funds to pay the last of the indemnity imposed by The Treaty of Apamea to The Roman Republic.

As Verse 24 states, Antiochus IV was able to use the “plunder, booty, and riches” extorted by his father and brother to establish his own position as king, despite the fact that Seleucus IV’s son, Demetrius, who was a hostage in Rome, was the legitimate heir. The Roman Republic was impressed by Antiochus IV’s generosity and his genuine admiration for Rome (the city where he had lived as an hostage after The Treaty of Apamea). There was no attempt by The Roman Republic to aid Demetrius to his father’s throne. Antiochus IV charmed The Senators of Rome with his extravagance and generosity.

Nevertheless, Antiochus IV, was not content to merely maintain the status quo of The Seleucid Empire. As Daniel II, Verse 24 states in its concluding clause, Antiochus IV was planning to attack Egypt. There were factions in The Egyptian Court who wanted to seize Coele-Syria once more for the Ptolemaic Kingdom. (Antiochus III had defeated the Ptolemies and had gained control of the coveted Coele-Syria region in The Battle of Panium 198 B.C.E. His daughter, Cleopatra I, had married Ptolemy V, as part of the peace treaty.)

Antiochus IV was perhaps not entirely motivated by imperial covetousness. His sister, Cleopatra I had, in all probability, been assassinated by the pro-war faction in The Egyptian Court in 176 B.C.E. Her son, Ptolemy VI, was Antiochus IV’s nephew.

Also, The Roman Republic was engaged in The Third Macedonian War (171 B.C.E. – 168 B.C.E.) against Perseus of Macedon. (Cleopatra I had persuaded her husband, Ptolemy V. to forge an alliance with The burgeoning Roman Republic when she had married the Egyptian Pharoah, much to the anger of her father, Antiochus III.)

It was this Third Macedonian War that saw the end of Alexander The Great’s Kingdom of Macedon. Perseus, the last king of Macedon was defeated by The Republic of Rome. Perseus was captured, was exhibited in the triumph, and then became a slave – as were many members of the Macedonian aristocracy. Macedon and Greece were divided into Four Roman Provinces. The Republic of Rome’s treasury was was so enriched by the defeat of the Macedonian kingdom that in 167 B.C.E. direct taxation of Roman citizens was abandoned.

No self-respecting, militaristic, Hellenistic king could not “devise plans for war” against a weak enemy, like Egypt, which was now ruled by corrupt civilians – particularly when its protector was engaged in a war with a determined belligerent. Nevertheless, when Rome had defeated Perseus, it was able to come to Egypt’s aid. In one of the most famous incidents in Ancient History, Antiochus IV, unlike the tragic Perseus, capitulated to The Roman Republic. He withdrew from Egypt. This withdrawal, however, was the cause of Antioochus IV’s blasphemous and cruel treatment of The Jews in Judaea which the following verses in Daniel’s Vision records.

Antiochus IV and Perseus of Macedon, these militaristic Hellenistic kings, preparing for wars against The Roman Republic and Egypt in the first years of their respective reigns, form a stark contrast to THE KING OF KINGS, JESUS OF NAZARETH and HIS preparations for HIS war against The Enemy of All Mankind, Satan, Sin, Death, and Its Dark Kingdom, Sheol.

When HE was manifest as THE BELOVED SON OF GOD at HIS Baptism, in 29 C.E., THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD descended upon JESUS in the form of a dove –a bird of peace, and humility, and gentleness.

Ironically, to prepare HIM for HIS BATTLE and TRIUMPH AGAINST THE EVIL ONE, SIN, AND DEATH, THE HOLY SPIRIT drove HIM into The Wilderness to be tested.

Co-Co, The Coconut-Throwing Chimpanzee Schoolmaster, used to ponder the subject of The TESTING AND PREPARATIONS OF JESUS in The Wilderness. He wondered whether it was a far greater period than the commonly accepted Forty Days.

He calculated that it was Six Tests by Satan, each with Forty Days of Fasting, over a period of Three years, Three months, and Fifteen days.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD led THE SON OF GOD for One Thousand, One hundred and Eighty Five Days [1.185 Days]. These days were days of Testing and Wandering in The Land observing and preparing for The Greatest Battle in History.

Co-Co would note how many of the great military leaders in history prepared for years for their ultimate victories:

• One of the acknowledged greatest military commanders of history, Judas Maccabaeus, prepared for his first battle for almost a year in The Wilderness of Judaea.
• Alexander The Great prepared his whole life for his conquest of The Persian Empire.
• Winston Churchill, the great leader of The Allies in World War II, was many years in the political wilderness studying his ancestor, The Duke of Marlborough, ‘s Triumph at The Battle of Blenheim.
• The Jews were in The Wilderness being prepared for The Conquest of Canaan for thirty eight years – forty years altogether from The Exodus from Egypt.
• Moses underwent a period of preparation and testing for eighty years before He was called by THE GOD OF ISRAEL to lead The Children of Israel out of bondage and slavery in Egypt.

Thus it was that Co-Co’s favourite painting of this pivotal period in the life of THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD was by the great Russian Artist, Ivan Kramskoi, painted in 1882.

Next Week: Daniel 11:25 Antiochus IV and His Almost Complete Conquest of Egypt