“He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. 22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. 23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. 24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot, and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.
As the Angel continued to give Daniel the details of the vision, he painted a word picture of a treacherous king. This was Antiochus Epiphanes, who has been called “the Antichrist of the Old Testament.” Fifteen verses of this chapter are devoted to this Syrian king, more than are devoted to any other. This king would cause nothing but grief for the Jewish people.
We have met this king previously on the pages of the book of Daniel. In 8:9-12 he is the king symbolized by the horn that grew out of one of the goat’s four horns.
King Antiochus is introduced as a contemptible person who really had no business being king in the first place. The throne did not pass to him by legitimate succession; he stole it. His predecessor on the throne of Syria was his brother, whose son Demetrius was next in line. At the time of his father’s death, however, Demetrius was being held hostage in Rome, and Antiochus was quick to take advantage of the opportunity to seize the throne for himself “through intrigue.” Like Absalom, the son of David who led a rebellion against his father, Antiochus knew the right people to flatter, and he succeeded in usurping the throne.
The description of the beginning of his reign is not easy to follow. Apparently, he consolidated his power by winning an impressive military victory over a numerically superior army and then signing a peace treaty with the conquered nation. The “prince of the covenant” who was destroyed cannot be identified. Some have thought he was the Jewish high priest; others, the Egyptian king. At any rate, once Antiochus had firmly established himself as king, he continued to practice deceit. He made treaties and formed alliances, but without any intention of respecting them.
When neighboring provinces felt secure, Antiochus would invade and conquer. The richest provinces and strongest fortresses became the objects of Antiochus’s interest. To reward the loyalty of his followers, he distributed the plunder of war to them. Instead of keeping it to build his own wealth, he used it to buy their loyalty and influence, something his predecessors had not done. All this happened “for a time,” a time God had determined.