"Boy, that sure is an awful lot of action!" Jamie exclaimed.
"Yes, it is," Elizabeth agreed.
"So how was that part of the angel's message actually fulfilled?"
Brian asked.
Darryl explained, "General Ptolemy became king of the southern kingdom
and General Seleucus became king of the northern kingdom. Their kingdoms
battled back and forth for years until Antiochus II Theos, the grandson
of Seleucus, married Ptolemy's granddaughter Bernice."
"How did they meet and fall in love?" Jamie asked.
"Well, they didn't marry for love. Their marriage was a type of peace
treaty between the two kingdoms."
"Oh my," Jamie cried out. "I sure wouldn't have wanted to
be poor Bernice!"
"You're right about that. Antiochus II Theos was already married. He
divorced his wife Laodice in order to marry Bernice. When Bernice's father
died, he divorced Bernice and remarried Laodice. Laodice was still angry
about the way she had been treated. She poisoned her husband Antiochus II
Theos and had Bernice, Bernice's servants, and Bernice's child murdered.
She then appointed her son, Seleucus II, to be the new king of Syria."4
"It sounds like a soap opera!" Brian laughed.
"That was some story! I never knew history was so interesting!"
Jamie added.
"I'm not finished yet. Would you like to hear more?" Darryl asked
them.
"Sure, what happened next?"
"Bernice's brother, Ptolemy III, became king in Egypt. He invaded Syria
to avenge his sister's death by executing Laodice. Seleucus II went into
hiding during the invasion. Ptolemy III looted Syria and carried great treasures
back to Egypt."5
"This is better than a soap opera. No one could make up a story like
this," Brian remarked.
"That's right! It shows Daniel could not have made the story up. There
are too many little details that happened exactly as the angel said they
would," Elizabeth agreed.
"Seleucus II came out of hiding and attempted a counterattack, but
he was unsuccessful. Years passed, and after these two kings, died they
were replaced by their sons. Ptolemy IV Philopaton, king of the south, went
into battle with Antiochus III, also known as 'the great,' king of the north.
Both kingdoms used elephants in the battle. Ptolemy IV's army won the battle."6
"I'll bet they used elephants because they would work for peanuts,"
Jamie giggled.
Darryl smiled and said, "I'm glad to see that your sense of humor is
still intact. Years later, Antiochus the Great gave his daughter Cleopatra
to Ptolemy V Epiphanes as a wife. He hoped that she would be able to keep
Egypt from attacking his kingdom while he went into battle against Roman-controlled
Greece. His plan failed because Cleopatra was a faithful wife. When Antiochus
the Great died, his son Antiochus Epiphanes took over."7
"Antiochus Epiphanes!" Jamie cried. "Not him again!"
"Yes, we have made it to Antiochus Epiphanes. The next few verses describe
his reign of terror. However, we need to keep in mind that Antiochus Epiphanes
was a type of the anti-messiah (antichrist) and these verses may to some extent be applied
to the anti-messiah (antichrist)."
____________________
Daniel listened as the angel continued to reveal the future to him.
"The successor of this king of the north will be a worthless nobody,
who doesn't come from a royal family. He will suddenly appear and gain control
of the kingdom by treachery. Then he will destroy armies and remove G-d's
chosen high priest. He will make a treaty, but he will be deceitful and
break it, even though he has only a few followers. Without warning, he will
successfully invade a wealthy province, which is something his ancestors
never did. Then he will divide among his followers all of its treasures
and property. But none of this will last very long.
"He will gather a large and powerful army, and with great courage he
will attack the king of the south. The king of the south will meet him with
a stronger army, but he will lose the battle, because he will be betrayed
by members of the royal court. He will be ruined, and most of his army will
be slaughtered.
"The two kings will meet at a table and tell evil lies to each other.
But their plans will fail, because G-d has already decided what will happen.
Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures.
But on the way, he will attack the religion of G-d's people and do whatever
else he pleases.
"At the time G-d has decided, the king of the north will invade the
southern kingdom again, but this time, things will be different. Ships from
the west will come to attack him, and he will be discouraged. Then he will
start back to his own country and take out his anger on the religion of
G-d's faithful people, while showing kindness to those who are unfaithful.
He will send troops to pollute the temple and the fortress, and he will
stop the daily sacrifices. Then he will set up that horrible thing that
causes destruction. The king will use deceit to win followers from those
who are unfaithful to G-d, but those who remain faithful will do everything
possible to oppose him.
"Wise leaders will instruct many of the people. But for a while, some
of these leaders will either be killed with swords or burned alive, or else
robbed of their possessions and thrown into prison. They will receive only
a little help in their time of trouble, and many of their followers will
be treacherous. Some of those who are wise will suffer, so that G-d will
make them pure and acceptable until the end, which will still come at the
time He has decided. "8
