Commentary - Daniel 11:29-35

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Daniel's remarkably detailed prophecy, we are watching the outworking of God's sovereign decree in the midst of frantic human activity. The angel is continuing his narration of the conflict between the king of the North (the Seleucid Empire) and the king of the South (the Ptolemaic Empire). Specifically, we have come to the career of the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a man who serves in history as a malignant preview, a typological forerunner, of even greater antagonists of God's people. This passage details his second, failed invasion of Egypt, his subsequent rage against God's covenant people in Judea, and the resulting great persecution. The central lesson is that the machinations of arrogant kings, the rise and fall of empires, and even the intense suffering of the saints are all being orchestrated by God for His own purposes. He is a God who appoints the times. The passage shows us the anatomy of apostasy and the anatomy of faithfulness. It reveals how a tyrant uses flattery and force to attack the people of God, and how the people of God resist, not through political savvy, but by knowing their God and standing firm.

This is not just dusty history. The principles here are perennial. The pressure to compromise with a godless culture, the seduction of smooth words, the persecution that follows a refusal to bow, and the refining fire that purifies the church are all recurring themes. Antiochus is a picture of the world's rage against the covenant, a rage that would find its ultimate expression in the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and which continues in various forms to this day. But the central point is a word of profound encouragement: in the midst of the fire, the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

Outline

Context In Daniel

Daniel 11 is the final and most detailed vision in the book. It is a direct continuation of the angelic revelation that began in chapter 10. After a period of intense spiritual warfare, an angel comes to Daniel to explain "what will happen to your people in the latter days" (Dan 10:14). The vision then unrolls a long, intricate, and stunningly accurate history of the Hellenistic period, focusing on the Ptolemaic kings of the South (Egypt) and the Seleucid kings of the North (Syria) as they fight for control of the land bridge of Palestine. This prophecy is so precise that liberal critics, committed to a world where such things cannot happen, have insisted that it must have been written after the events it describes. But for the believer, it is a powerful demonstration of God's absolute sovereignty over history. Our specific passage, verses 29-35, zooms in on the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.), whose blasphemous arrogance and persecution of the Jews serve as a crucial Old Testament type of the Antichrist and the "abomination of desolation" that Jesus refers to in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:15).

Key Issues

History in Advance

Before we dive into the particulars, we must get our bearings. What we are reading here is history written down before it happened. The level of detail is staggering, and it serves a profound theological purpose. God is not a distant, deistic clockmaker who wound up the universe and then let it run. He is the sovereign Lord who directs the affairs of men and nations down to the last detail. He raises up kings and He puts them down. The story of Antiochus Epiphanes is not in the Bible simply because it was a traumatic time for the Jews. It is here to show us that even the most blasphemous and arrogant tyrants are but pawns on God's chessboard. They fulfill His purposes, even in their rebellion. This gives the people of God immense confidence. If God could predict the machinations of Hellenistic kings centuries in advance, then we can trust that He holds our own times, with all their tumult and confusion, securely in His hand. The God who manages the details of Antiochus's foreign policy is the God who is managing the details of your life.

Verse by Verse Commentary

29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not happen the way it did before.

The phrase "at the appointed time" is crucial. God is the one who sets the timetable. Antiochus Epiphanes does not act on his own whim, but according to a divine schedule he knows nothing about. He launches a second invasion of Egypt (the South), but the angel tells Daniel that this attempt will not be like his first successful campaign. The first time, he had great success. This time, the outcome will be different. The arrogance of man proposes, but the sovereignty of God disposes. God sets the boundaries for the wrath of tyrants, saying, "Thus far, and no farther."

30 Indeed, ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.

Here is the specific reason for his failure. "Ships of Kittim" is a reference to naval powers from the West, from the coastlands of the Mediterranean. Historically, this was fulfilled with precision. As Antiochus was marching on Alexandria, he was met by a Roman envoy, Gaius Popillius Laenas, who had arrived with his fleet. The Roman Senate had sent a clear message: get out of Egypt, or face war with Rome. The envoy famously drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and demanded an answer before he stepped out of it. Utterly humiliated and enraged by this checkmate from a superior power, Antiochus had to retreat. And where does a playground bully go when he has been put in his place by a bigger bully? He goes to find someone smaller to kick. Frustrated in his imperial ambitions, he turns his fury against the people of God. He becomes "indignant at the holy covenant." His rage is not just political; it is theological. He hates the covenant God has made with His people. So on his way home, he takes out his frustration on Jerusalem, and in doing so, he finds allies. He shows favor to those Jews who had already forsaken the covenant, the Hellenizers who wanted to turn Jerusalem into just another Greek city.

31 Mighty forces from him will stand, profane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.

This is the heart of the sacrilege. Antiochus sends his forces, and they commit three great offenses. First, they profane the sanctuary fortress, treating God's holy temple as a common thing. Second, they abolish the regular sacrifice, the daily burnt offering that was at the heart of temple worship. This was a direct assault on the means of atonement and fellowship with God under the old covenant. Third, they set up the abomination of desolation. Historically, this was fulfilled when Antiochus erected an altar to Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig on it. It is hard to imagine a more calculated and offensive act of blasphemy. He made God's house desolate, an object of horror. This event is what precipitated the Maccabean revolt. But it also stands as a type, a pattern. Jesus picks up this very phrase in Matthew 24 to describe the sign for His disciples to flee Jerusalem before its destruction in A.D. 70. The ultimate abomination was the apostate Jewish nation's rejection of their Messiah, which led to the temple's final desolation by the Romans.

32 And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

Here the battle lines are drawn, not just between Antiochus and the Jews, but within the Jewish community itself. The tyrant uses two methods: force and flattery. For those who were already wicked toward the covenant, the Hellenizing Jews, he uses "smooth words." He corrupts them with flattery, promising them power, prestige, and a place in his new world order if they will just abandon their ancestral faith. Apostasy is always a temptation, and it is often greased with the world's approval. But then we have the glorious contrast. "But the people who know their God will display strength and take action." This is the central lesson. True resistance to tyranny is not born from political calculation or military might. It is born from a deep, personal, covenantal knowledge of God. When you know who God is, in His holiness, sovereignty, and faithfulness, you cannot bow to the idols of the age. This knowledge produces courage. It makes people strong, firm, and resolute. And it leads to action. They do not just passively resist; they actively obey God rather than men.

33 And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.

The faithful action of God's people takes the form of teaching. Those with insight, the wise, instruct the "many" in the ways of God and the meaning of their present distress. They are the faithful pastors and teachers who strengthen the flock in a time of persecution. But this faithfulness comes at a great cost. The prophecy is clear that this will not be an easy, triumphant march. There will be intense suffering: sword, flame, captivity, plunder. And it will last for "many days." God does not promise His people an escape from suffering, but rather faithfulness in the midst of it.

34 Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in intrigue.

In the midst of this persecution, God provides "a little help." This likely refers to the initial successes of the Maccabean revolt under Judas Maccabeus and his brothers. It was a help, but it was a "little" help. It did not end the struggle, and it was fraught with its own dangers. The success attracted fair-weather friends, those who joined the cause not from pure motives but from "intrigue" or flattery. The church in a time of revival must always be wary of those who climb on the bandwagon for the wrong reasons. Success can be as dangerous as persecution.

35 And some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the time of the end, because it is still to come at the appointed time.

This is a hard but essential truth. Even the wise, the leaders, will stumble and fall. Some will be martyred. Why does God allow this? The text gives the answer: for the purpose of spiritual purification. The persecution is a refiner's fire. It is designed to refine, purge, and make them pure. Suffering has a sanctifying purpose in the plan of God. It burns away the dross of compromise, superficiality, and self-reliance. It makes the church white. This process will continue until the "time of the end," which in this immediate context refers to the end of this specific period of persecution, which God has set at His "appointed time." God is in control of the thermostat on the furnace.

Application

We are not facing an Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificing pigs on an altar in our church buildings. At least, not yet. But the spirit of Antiochus is alive and well. The world system, in its hatred for the holy covenant, is constantly trying to profane the sanctuary of the church. It does this through overt persecution, but more often, it does so through the "smooth words" of cultural accommodation. It offers us a seat at the table, a bit of prestige, a little less friction, if we will just set aside the offensive parts of our faith, the parts that clash with the spirit of the age.

The call to us is the same as it was in Daniel's day. The only way to stand firm is to know our God. This is not about knowing facts about God, but about knowing Him in a deep, covenantal relationship. Do we know His sovereignty, trusting that even the headlines that make us anxious are part of His appointed plan? Do we know His holiness, which makes us recoil from the world's defilements? Do we know His faithfulness, which gives us the courage to act, even when it is costly? And are we prepared for the cost? Faithfulness will lead to conflict. It may mean falling by sword or flame, or in our context, by loss of job, reputation, or friendships.

Finally, we must see God's hand in our trials. When we fall, when we stumble, we must not despair. God is using these very trials to refine, purge, and make us pure. The pressure is intended to make us more like Christ. The fire is not meant to destroy us, but to purify us. Like the faithful in the time of the Maccabees, we are called to stand firm, to instruct others, to endure hardship, and to trust that all of it is unfolding according to God's appointed time, for the glory of His name and the good of His people.