Daniel 11:34

Help arrived when Mattathias's family and their supporters (the Maccabees) started a national revolt. Antiochus was busy elsewhere and could not stop it. In 164 BC, three years after the temple was desecrated, the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem. They removed the statue of Zeus, cleansed the altar, and restored daily sacrifices (Daniel 8:11–14, 26; 1 Maccabees 1:59). This event is celebrated during Hanukkah (see John 10:22).

Wise people know God and his laws and follow them, even in a hostile and deceptive environment. Many were killed for their faithfulness to God and his laws during this time (1 Maccabees 1:11; Daniel 7:19; 2 Maccabees 6–7).

• Antiochus IV invaded the south (Egypt) again (see Polybius, Histories 29.1).

• The warships from western coastlands refer to the Romans. The Roman general Popilius Laenas drew a circle in the sand, made Antiochus stand inside it, and forced him to decide whether to return home or prepare for war with Rome before leaving the circle.

  Fearing the Roman fleet, Antiochus chose to withdraw and return home. He then took out his anger and humiliation on the Jews, the people of the holy covenant. He captured Jerusalem in 167 BC and rewarded those who joined him. He defiled the altar (see Daniel 8:9–14, 23–26), stopped the sacrifices, set up a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the temple, and persecuted and killed those who refused to abandon the covenant (see 1 Maccabees 1:62–64; compare Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power next, ruling from 175 to 163 BC. He is the small horn mentioned in Daniel 8:9–14, 23–26. His story is vividly described in 1 Maccabees 1:7–6:16; 2 Maccabees 1:1–10:5; 4 Maccabees 4:15–18:5. Antiochus was considered despicable because he seized the throne and for his actions as king. He was not in line for royal succession and took the throne from his brother’s son.

In this passage, the king of the South refers to Alexander's general Ptolemy and his descendants, who ruled Egypt. The king of the North refers to Alexander's general Seleucus and his descendants, who ruled Syria and Mesopotamia.

After Alexander's death, the kings of Egypt and Syria fought for control of Palestine, a strategically important land. The holy city and its people were caught between these two powers. These battles continued until their predetermined end (Daniel 11:27, 35, 40, 45; 12:1, 7).

Historical accounts of these events appear in 1, 2, and 3 Maccabees and in the works of Herodotus, Livy, Polybius, Porphyry, and Josephus.

The messenger shared a broad overview of history. It started with Persia, continued through the fall of Greece, and covered the rise and fall of a wicked king or several kings (Daniel 11:21–45). It concluded with the final resurrection and victory of God's people.

This final vision spans from 536 BC to a future when Daniel will rise from the dead and receive his inheritance. All earthly kingdoms will be destroyed. The eternal kingdom of the Son of Man will arise. God's people will finally be rescued, and death, the ultimate enemy, will be defeated.