“And Both These Kings’ (Antiochus IV and Ptolemy VI) Hearts Shall Be To Do Mischief;

And They (Antiochus IV and Ptolemy VI) Shall Speak Lies At One Table;

But It Shall Not Prosper:

For Yet THE END Shall Be At The Time Appointed.”

(Daniel 11:27)

Antiochus IV (175 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E.) and Ptolemy VI (180 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E. & 163 B.C.E. – 145 B.C.E.)

In 169 B.C.E. during The Sixth Syrian War (168 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E.) after Antiochus IV had almost taken control of all Egypt, and was advancing on Alexandria, Ptolemy VI went out to meet his uncle, Antiochus IV, the brother of his mother Cleopatra Syra. He invited him to a great banquet at Memphis.

Antiochus agreed to withdraw leaving Ptolemy VI as the king of Egypt at Memphis. Seemingly, he had attacked Egypt to protect the young king, his nephew and to establish Ptolemy VI on his throne at Memphis. He agreed to leave only Pelesium garrisoned and withdraw from Egypt.

The truth was that Antiochus IV knew that he could not take Alexandria at this stage. He had been absent from his vast Seleucid Empire for a year. He needed to return to his capital at Antioch and prepare for a greater force to take Alexandria. Whilst feigning protection for his nephew, Ptolemy VI, Antiochus IV plundered Egypt of much of its vast wealth before he returned to Antioch.

Ptolemy VI also feigned appreciation of his uncle Antiochus IV’s protection, but within two months, Ptolemy VI, reconciled with his brother, Ptolemy VIII, (who had been declared the sole king of Egypt by The City of Alexandria, when Ptolemy VI had seemingly been reduced by Antiochus IV to the status of a puppet king in Memphis). The restored government repudiated the agreement which Ptolemy VI had made with Antiochus IV and began to recruit troops from Greece so as to be able to withstand Antiochus IV’s second foray into Egypt.

In Verses Twenty Eight and Twenty Nine of Chapter Eleven of this prophecy given to Daniel in 536 B.C.E., Antiochus IV’s plundering of Egypt is noted and his return to his own land before his second attack on Egypt.

What intrigued Co-Co, The Coconut-Throwing Chimpanzee Schoolmaster about Daniel II:27, however, was not this duplicitious behaviour of the two kings, but the concluding verse:

“For Yet THE END Shall Be At The Time Appointed.”

The phrase “At The Time Appointed” reoccurs in Verse 29, and Verse 35.

The phrase “THE END” reoccurs in Verse 35 and Verse 40.

Co-Co argued that “THE END” being prophesied was in The Jewish Wars of 66 C.E. -70 C.E. and 131 C.E. – 135 C.E. The:

• Seemingly (Daniel 12:8) inexplicable defeat of The Jewish Nation by the Roman general Vespasian,
• The Destruction of The Temple in Jerusalem and The End of The Levitical Priesthood by Vespasian’s son, Titus,
• The Selling into Slavery of Vast Numbers of Jews by Titus in The War of 66 C.E. – 70 C.E.
• The Final Absolute Conquest of Judaea by The Emperor, Hadrian, and the Scattering of The Jewish People from their homeland until The Beginning of The End of The Times of The Gentiles (Daniel 12:7b)

Is it any wonder that even a man of Daniel’s great learning and righteousness could not understand the purposes of THE LORD: “O! My Lord what shall be The End of These Things? [ Where is The Blessing in Such An End as The Scattering of THE HOLY PEOPLE?]”

THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL desires that not just The Jews but The Gentiles come into HIS KINGDOM. It was for this purpose that HE allowed this seeming end of Daniel’s People.

But The Time of The Gentiles is drawing to to a close and GOD’S Ancient People are being established in their land at great cost but THE LORD is keeping HIS Promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

If one wants to gain an appreciation of what this re-establishment is costing, see the recently released film, ‘Golda’.

Golda Meir was the prime-minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War (1973)

The Young Golda Meir (1898 – 1978)

Next Week: Daniel 11:28