Daniel 11
Prophecy: Kings of the North and the South
The Syrian Wars
Ptolemy II Philadelphus,
Antiochus II Theos and Berenice Syra
Daniel 11:6
PREVIOUS: Daniel 11:5 NEXT: Daniel 11:7-9
Introduction
What do you fear in this world?
In the message under the title Daniel 10:20-21 we were talking about the truth in the introduction (you can find it by cliking the link) and about some lies Satan has introduced in this world, as the two examples in that message, the existence of humans who aren't male or female and the existence of a country called "Palestine" with a "Palestinian people".
The list of lies Satan has introduced in this world is much longer than those two issues. Ironically, the liars who support every false claim, as calling "Nazis" all of those who oppose the obliteration of their countries, their cultures and their laws in the altar of a "new world order", have decided that they are the "arbiters of the truth", and they are in a full-scale war against our freedom, depriving the s.c. "Nazis" from the right to speak in social media and calling their opinions "hate speech". They are using "fact-checkers" that suffocate any undesired opinion, but let live lies and real hate speech.
There are bad and good news for us who believe in the Bible. Let me begin with the bad news: the liars will become more and more powerful, the unholy matrimony between more and more totalitarian states and apostate churches will increase, our children will "learn" in schools that a man can become a woman and vice versa, and that we have to stop using gasoline and coal or the world is going to disappear in twelve years - in other words: they will be brainwashed.
Other kind of unholy matrimony which is called "crony capitalism" will also increase, with corrupt politicians favoring some mega-corporations - their greater and richer donors - instead of the free market, and by so doing, trampling small businesses, or even not so small ones as the fossil fuel industry - which stands for more than 80% of the world's energy needs, and is being disfavored to promote solar and wind energy. Unless Congress in the USA grows a spine and put an end to their abuse of power and discrimination, the social media corporations and search engines (aka "big tech") will trample every opinion which differs from politically correct-globalist-anti-Christian orthodoxy, and take us back to the Middle Ages, when Jews were persecuted, "heretics" burnt and dissenting opinions smashed.
If it seems too gloomy to you, let me remind you some prophecies about these times we are living in:
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah', and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains"
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold"
Matthew 24:4-12
Nevertheless, prophecies about gloomy prospects are not the only ones. The Lord knows all evil that is happening and that will happen in the future, but in the same way, He knows the solution for the evils we confront now and for those to come. Let's take a look to the passage of today's message, where a convulse world in constant war threatened the Jewish people, but the Lord protected them.
Wars and conflicts in Daniel's prophecy
This is Daniel 11:6 in the NIV:
"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 betrayed, together with her royal escort and her child* and the one who supported her"
* "child" = alternative rendering in NIV, chosen rendering in Young's Literal Translation and Reina-Valera (most prestigious Spanish translation, parallel to the King James Bible) among others.
The original Hebrew text of this verse is:
ולקץ שנים יתחברו ובת מלך הנגב תבוא אל מלך הצפון לעשות מישרים. ולא תעצר כוח הזרוע ולא יעמד וזרעו ותנתן היא ומביאיה והילדה ומחזקה בעתים
And this is the pronunciation:
"Ulekéts shaním yitxabarú, uvát mélex hanégev tavó el-mélex hatsafón laasót mesharím. Veló tatsór kóax hazeróa, veló yaamód uzeroó, vetinatén hi umaviéha vehayoledá umaxaziká baitím"
Hebrew והילדה (ve-ha-yoledá) has presented some difficulties to the translators. The two renderings which we can mostly find have been "and her father" (literally "and the one who begat her") or "and her child" (literally "and the one she gave birth to") ילדה (yoledá) comes from the Hebrew verb ילד (yalád) which means "to beget, sire, engender" - if it applies to a man - or "to give birth to, deliver, bear" - when it is about a woman. Because the verb is in the past tense of the third person feminine singular, "she gave birth to" is a perfect translation, but both are possible and fit the prophecy. An interesting and possible one is in the LXX, "and her maid", reading "vehayaldá" which is perfectly acceptable also (let us remember that there were no vowels in the original Hebrew, and those the Masoretes have added don't have any divine authority; they are pretty much their own opinion, albeit a very authorized one, but not mandatory at all)
The translation of NIV, albeit not a literal one, keeps the meaning of the verse perfectly, and adapts to a more fluent English than a literal translation would render. There are three main characters in the prophecy: a king of the south, a king of the north and the daughter of the first one, who went to the north to marry the king of the north and make an alliance between him and her father, the king of the south. These three persons are the southern king Ptolemy II Philadelphus, his daughter Berenice Syra, and Antiochus II Theos, the northern king who married her.
Roots of the conflict:
the outcome of the 1st Syrian War
In the previous message (Daniel 11:5, link above) we saw the prophecy about Ptolemy I Soter and Seleucus I Nicator, the founders of the Egytpian and Seleucid empires, respectively. We also talked about the First Syrian War (274-271 BC) between Antiochus I Soter (Seleucus I's son) and Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Ptolemy I's son). The victor in this war was Ptolemy II, who occupied the coastal lands of the Mediterranean from Egypt to all of southern Turkey - this territory includes Israel - which had been taken by Antiochus I Soter at the beginning.
The 2nd Syrian War
and the intended alliance
However, in the Second Syrian War (260-253 BC) Antiochus II Theos retook the Turkish territories, which caused Ptolemy II to seek the alliance we read about in the prophecy of today's Daniel 11:6, in order to avoid more losses. He sent his daughter Berenice Syra to marry Antiochus II, with this purpose.
Why then "she" [Berenice] did not "retain her power", and "he [Ptolemy II] and his power" did "not last"?
There was a big problem with Ptolemy's calculations. In order to marry Berenice, Antiochus II had divorced his first wife Laodice (from whom the name "Laodicea", the city of the church of Revelation 3, comes; it was so called in her honor). The alliance with Ptolemy II had an intended outcome, which was to crown Berenice's son and heir as the king of the Seleucian Empire. But Antiochus II didn't honor his word; he abandoned Berenice and her son Antiochus - the intended successor - to go back to Laodice in Ephesus, where she was living, and to their son Seleucus. At the death of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and the beginning of his son's reign - Ptolemy III Euergetes, who strongly cared for his sister Berenice and was offended by Antiochus' treatment of her - Laodice killed Antiochus II, Berenice and her son, in order to get her own son crowned.
How was Berenice Syra "betrayed, together with her royal escort and her child and the one who supported her"?
The death of Berenice and her son is the betrayal this verse is about (or her death and the betrayal of his father, if we translate it that way). Even Antiochus had betrayed her and her son, when he returned to his repudiated first wife. The betrayal of Laodice is evident in the fact that she had accepted the act of her husband and lived with a privileged status as a queen, on the premise that Berenice's son would be the successor, and not hers. She even killed Antiochus and reversed the pact they had. The war between Laodice and Berenice for the crowning of their sons as successors of Antiochus II, followed by the attack of Ptolemy III who killed Laodice in revenge for his sister's death, is called the Third Syrian War (246-241 BC). The continuation of Daniel's prophecy (verses 7-9, next message) developes on the outcome of this war and the deeds of Ptolemy III Euergetes.
God protected His people in the midst of wars
The 2nd Syrian War (260-253 BC) didn't hurt the Jews especially. It has been said that Antiochus II "granted special rights and even full citizenship to the Jews of certain Greek cities" (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/antiochus). When it comes to Ptolemy II Philadelphus, he was even a greater benefactor to the Jews. He set free more than 100 000 Jews who had been in exile in his kingdom - Egypt - because of his father's policies, put those who were able in official positions in his government, and asked from the Jewish High Priest 72 scribes to translate the Jewish Bible to the Greek language; it is the translation the apostles used when they quoted the Old Testament, called the LXX or Septuagint. As long as the Jews paid their tributes, the Greek kings in the beginning mostly let them follow their uses and to practice their religion as they wanted.
God protects His church as well
As we are still in the midst of the effects of the Wuhan-virus and the wrong ways so many have chosen to deal with it, under the threat of an economical catastrophe and even famine in poorer countries, and under the threat of a socialist/globalist/anti-Christian takeover, we can always come nearer to God and his Word. Our church is in the midst of this political-social-cultural war which we didn't cause, as Israel was in the middle of the wars between the "king of the north" and the "king of the south", which they certainly didn't cause either. And the God who worked goodwill towards Israel in the last Persian kings, and also in some of the Greek ones (both from north and south) is the same one who works grace towards us every day.
Jesus said,
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul"
"Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near".
Receive Jesus!
If you have not yet received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, today is your day! Don't let your precious soul be tossed by the storms of life; there is a loving Father who sees you and cares for you, and He sent His Son to save you from your sins, and His Holy Spirit to give you life. Confess your sins to Him, repent and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior! All encouragement, all empowerment, all faith, all hope we need is in Him.
In the love of Jesus, your brother
Israel Leonard
PS. Jesus is coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment