Diving into Daniel: Deceit Continues and Rome Gets Involved
Daniel 11:26-30 - Human history is a broken record of leaders who deceive and commit atrocities.
“Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain. As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. Then he will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.
“At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.”
Daniel 11:26-30 NASB1995
I found the public domain image above, of an artwork done in the 1700’s with these very events captured, so I decided to not have Steve do an AI image for today’s devotional.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his schemes are starting to catch up with him in his attempts to take over Egypt. Even his loyal followers, who “eat his choice food” will look to destroy him. His army is overflowing with troops but many will be slain. Both kings involved in this land battle are intent on evil and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed for the end will still come at the appointed time (God is sovereign over these events(,
Here’s commentary from Precept Austin:
Lehman Strauss - Notice once more that the victory of Antiochus was to be credited to "devices." (schemes) Even those who worked closely with the king of the south, that is, men who ate at the king's table, turned against their ruler. We are not told how Antiochus successfully operated his conspiracy within the top administration in the Egyptian government, but we do know his wicked plan worked, at least for awhile. [from The Prophecies of Daniel].
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As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time - Once again we note that God appoints the time, the starts and the stops! He is sovereign over all.
Lehman Strauss - The two kings are Antiochus and possibly Philometor, however we cannot be certain as to the occasion referred to in the text. We are told that when they sat down at the bargaining table neither had honorable motives nor employed honorable methods. They spoke lies to each other, and in the end neither prospered as the result of their treachery. Deceit and lying must ultimately fail because there is a “time appointed” when all that man builds up must face the final verdict of Almighty God. We have seen this principle at work in our own lifetime when the treaties of men who deceived and lied proved worthless and the men themselves toppled to the dust. Yes, such men appear to prosper for a season!
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Lehman Strauss - Antiochus returned to Syria with many possessions which were the spoils of his military conquests. As he passed through Palestine to get to Syria he showed his hatred against the Temple of God and the holy covenant. But as the following verses show, his second campaign in Egypt was not successful.
Gaebelein - In 168BC he returned from his expedition and had great riches. Then he marched through Judea and did his awful deeds. A report had come to his ears that the Jewish people had reported him dead. In the first and second book of the Maccabees we read of his atrocities. Then he retired to Antioch. (The Prophet Daniel: Key to the Visions & Prophecies of the Book of Daniel)
Comment: See 1Macc 1:20-28 and 2Macc 5:11-17 for a detailed description of the violent atrocities of Antiochus and his murder of thousands of Jews as he marched through Judea.
So leaders of countries deceive each other and commit atrocities - imagine that! I can’t conceive of the idea (insert sarcasm emoji here). I’m writing this devotional on the 81st anniversary of the Allied D-Day invasion of Europe. That massive effort and the loss of many men on that day and on the days and months to follow as the Allied forces marched to victory through Western Europe was necessary because of deceit dating back to the early 1930s.
Wikipedia Commons: Robert Sargent, “Into the Jaws of Death” Photo From the National Archives, in the Public Domain
Two marvelous prevaricators and masters of deceit, Hitler and Stalin, gleefully signed all sorts of political and economic treaties to benefit both parties but even Stalin was caught off-guard by the abrupt end of those treaties when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941 (the invasion of the Soviet Union). British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, expecting Hitler to behave as a civilized human being who honored international treaties, was also caught by surprise when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 (Winston Churchill was not surprised, by the way, and soon became Prime Minister). Both of us have become quite interested in the history of WWII and it is a conflict worth studying and pondering and even praying about, as the repercussions still echo in 2025. We also all know what Hitler and his lunatic asylum did before and during the war to modernize the concept of the final solution and murder millions just because they were Jews, making Antiochus Epiphanes look like an amateur.
Well, back to Daniel 11. At God’s appointed time, Antiochus Epiphanes returns to the South, hoping to gain an advantage. Apparently, he was angry that the brothers Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy Physcon were reconciled so he marches in their direction, trying to take over their lands. However, the “ships of Kittim” will come against him. Here is the commentary from Precept Austin explaining what this means:
Ships of Kittim will come against him - This verse continues the story of Antiochus IV's unsuccessful second invasion of Egypt described in the previous passage. The ships of Kittim refer to the Roman forces that turned Antiochus IV away from his designs on Egypt.
NET Bible Note on Kittim - The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (Septuagint - LXX) has "Romans," an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. (Daniel 11 Commentary Notes)
Wikipedia describes the events as follows…
being confronted with the Roman demands that he abort his attack on Alexandria, Antiochus IV played for time; Popillius Laenas is supposed to have drawn a circle around the king in the sand with his cane, and ordered him not to move out of it until a firm answer had been given. The Syrians withdrew. According to Livy,
"After receiving the submission of the inhabitants of Memphis and of the rest of the Egyptian people, some submitting voluntarily, others under threats, [Antiochus] marched by easy stages towards Alexandria. After crossing the river at Eleusis, about four miles from Alexandria, he was met by the Roman commissioners, to whom he gave a friendly greeting and held out his hand to Popilius. Popilius, however, placed in his hand the tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him first of all to read that. After reading it through he said he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do. Popilius, stern and imperious as ever, drew a circle round the king with the stick he was carrying and said,
"Before you step out of that circle give me a reply to lay before the senate."
For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied,
"I will do what the senate thinks right."
Not till then did Popilius extend his hand to the king as to a friend and ally. Antiochus evacuated Egypt at the appointed date, and the commissioners exerted their authority to establish a lasting concord between the brothers, as they had as yet hardly made peace with each other." Ab Urbe Condita, xlv.12.
He will be disheartened and will return - Antiochus IV submits to the request of the Roman Senate not to invade Egypt again.
Become enraged at the holy covenant and take action - Antiochus IV Epiphanes takes out his wrath on Jerusalem and the Temple.
The painting at the top of today’s post shows the circle drawn around the feet of Antiochus IV Epiphanes by Popillius Laenas. The king’s humiliation at the hands of the Romans enrages him and he takes out his anger on Jerusalem and the Temple. So what does it mean to be “enraged”? I wanted to get the lexicon information from the Blue Letter Bible but they seem to be having website issues today. So this is from Precept Austin:
Enraged (02194) (za'am) properly means to "foam at the mouth", and thus means to become angry, to express intense anger or indignation (divine indignation - Ps 7:11, Isa 66:14, Zech 1:12, Mal 1:4). Given the root meaning (foaming at the mouth) it is not surprising that such anger can show in one's face (Pr 25:23). The related verb form (za'am) is used to indicate both the state of being indignant and the activity giving expression to that state. It is used in reference to man, but more often to God. Isaiah foretells a day when God's "indignation" will be experienced by Israel's enemies (Isaiah 66:14).
Fascinating! Human indignation has no chance against the day when God’s indignation will be felt!
My next devotional examines Daniel 11:31-35 - Desecration of God’s sanctuary and the actions of believers and hypocrites.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - On the day that I write these words, the 81st anniversary of D-Day, I pray for those who sacrificed their lives on that day and in the days that followed to pursue a just war against tyranny and oppression. I pray for those few veterans of that day who are still alive and for the families of all who served. I pray we never forget what happens when there is deceit and godlessness. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 6/6/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 11:26-30.