Deeper ReflectionIn Daniel 11, fifteen verses (vv.5-20) cover “the reigns of seven Seleucid
kings [the kings of the North] over a period of around 150 years”
55 , after
which the next fifteen verses (vv.21-35) focus on the reign of a single
Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes – “the climax of the story”
56 in
Daniel 11.Having seized the throne “by intrigue”, Antiochus “started with limited
support but gradually grew in power, making strategic alliances”
57 through
“deception” (vv.21, 23). He kept those who were loyal to him, but swept
away whoever tried to resist him, including “a prince of the covenant” (v.22)
– a Jewish high priest who “vainly attempted to resist the growing
pressure from the Seleucid authorities towards the Hellenisation of their
empire, which involved the adoption of Greek customs and practices
that were antithetical to God’s laws”
58 . Historically, this “prince of the
covenant” was Onias III, who was “deposed in 175 BC and assassinated
as a result of intrigues [cf. v.21] against him in 171 B
59 and “replaced
by a more compliant high priest”
60 . This event “marks the interference
of the secular state in things spiritual. A precedent had been set which
Roman emperors would not be slow to follow and which has become
a commonplace in twentieth century politics”
61 . But Christians tend to
naively presume that if the head of state is a Christian, it will be good
for both nation and church. Just look at recent times, how a nation was
unprecedentedly divided by a “supposedly” Christian head of state who
was strongly supported by Christians, including renowned and powerful
Christian leaders.
55Iain M. Duguid, 201
56 Iain M. Duguid, 200
57 Iain M. Duguid, 200
58 Iain M. Duguid, 200
59 Iain M. Duguid, 200
60 Iain M. Duguid, 200
61 Iain M. Duguid, 200
