Page 53 - Heavenly Signs II by Mel Gable

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163 B.C.). The Maccabean revolt and Jewish intertestamental history occurred during the reigns of the Antiochus kings. See Daniel;
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Intertestamental History and Literature; Maccabees.
EASTON’S: ANTIOCHUS — the name of several Syrian kings from 280 to 65 BC. The most notable of these were, (1.)
Antiochus the Great, who ascended the throne in 223 BC. He is regarded as the “king of the north” referred to in Dan.
11:13–19. He was succeeded by his son, Seleucus Philopater, spoken of by Daniel (11:20) as “a raiser of taxes”, in the Revised
Version, “one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom.”

(2.) Antiochus IV., surnamed “Epiphanes” i.e., the Illustrious, succeeded his brother Seleucus. His career and character are
prophetically described by Daniel (11:21–32). He was a “vile person.” In a spirit of revenge he organized an expedition against
Jerusalem, which he destroyed, putting vast multitudes of its inhabitants to death in the most cruel manner. From this time the Jews
began the great war of independence under their heroic Maccabean leaders with marked success, defeating the armies of Antiochus that
were sent against them. Enraged at this, Antiochus marched against them in person, threatening utterly to exterminate the nation;
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but on the way he was suddenly arrested by the hand of death.

J. Vernon McGee in “Thru the Bible” commentary believes the same thing that Daniel 11 is a prophetic
statement on Antiochus. Nevertheless, in his commentary on Daniel 11:21 he makes the following statement.
“Antiochus Epiphanes came to the throne in 175 BC.

He is called vile because of his blasphemies. He came to the thorn with a program of peace. The Antichrist will come to power in
the same way. He will introduce the Great Tribulation with three and one half years of peace, and the people of the world will think
they are entering the Millennium when they are really entering the Great Tribulation Period.”

Even, J. Vernon McGee could see that there were similarities to the description in Daniel to the Tribulation
period. Nevertheless, he doesn’t believe this is the case. J. Vernon McGee goes on to say that “The Prince of the
Covenant” was probably the high priest Onias III, who was deposed and murdered at this time by the deceitful
devices of Antiochus when he came to power. This is in reference to Daniel 11.

Daniel 11:22 “The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince
of the covenant.”
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It is strange to find the Onias III had not signed a “Covenant” and it didn’t get broken halfway through the week,
which is three and one-half years later.
In a book written by Marvin Rosenthal entitled “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church” he writes:

“The further ascendancy of the Antichrist is foreshadowed in the Bible by past emergence of the Syrian leader Antiochus
Epipharies. So important is this personage in history and prophecy that no less than three major passages of the Word of God are
given over to his career (Dan. 8:9-25, 11:21-35; Zech. 9:13-17). He is clearly and indisputably set forth in Scripture as an
illustration of the Antichrist and pretribuatlionists have long taught that concept.”
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In the Scofield Reference Bible, it reads in “note 1” at the bottom of Daniel chapter 11 the following: “Prophecy
does not concern itself with history as such, but only with history as it affects Israel and the Holy Land. Antiochus Epiphanes was

82 Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., Butler, T. C., & Latta, B. (2003). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(76–77). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

83 Easton, M. (1996). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

84 New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Da 11:22). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

85 Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church: 1990: Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson, Inc.