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For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

²⁰ “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle. 21 “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. 25 “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.  26 Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.  27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.  28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. 29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.  30 Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.  32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33 “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.  34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.  35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. The King Who Exalts Himself 36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.  37 He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.  38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.  39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. 40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.  41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.  42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.  43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission.  44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.  45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

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Antiochus IV is an interesting figure. He is both historical (second-century BC ruler of the Seleucid Empire) and mythical (a type of the antichrist).2 These two identities are reflected in the division in this passage (vv. 21–35 and 36–39). He called himself ‘Epiphanes—god-manifest’, clear claims to divinity. Many of his contemporaries chose to call him Epimanes (madman).3 He came to power in the Seleucid Empire through scheming, intrigue, and bribery. In his zeal, he sought to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city. Working with a corrupt high priest, Jason, who was already a Hellenized Jew, he introduced a gymnasium for Greek games and the reversal of circumcision. He committed sacrilege by entering the temple to remove treasures.4 He was so obnoxious that many Jews regarded him as the devil incarnate. A pro-Egyptian uprising gave him the opportunity to make thorough reforms in Jerusalem, abolishing the temple constitution and banning all temple rituals. He instituted the cult of Zeus, and, on a new altar built on the altar of burnt offerings, he sacrificed unclean animals (‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ v. 31). These sacrifices were made to Zeus, of whom Antiochus was god-manifest. Refusal to follow these orders was punishable by death. The decline of the church, especially in the West, indicates that something as powerful as Antiochus’ Hellenizing crusade is going on—but invisibly so that many of us are taken in. Even where the church is growing in parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia, traditional idolatrous practices continue to undermine believers’ faith.

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