ROME CONSTRAINS THE EXPLOITER

Jehovah's angel gives us this answer:  "He [the king of the north] will set his face to come with the forcefulness of his entire kingdom, and there will be equitable terms with him; and he will act effectively. And as regards the daughter of womankind, it will be granted to him to bring her to ruin. And she will not stand, and she will not continue to be his." -Daniel 11:17.

The king of the north, Antiochus III,  "set his face" to dominate Egypt "with forcefulness of his entire kingdom."  But he ended up making "equitable terms"  of peace with Ptolemy V, the king of the south. Rome's demands had cause Antiochus III  to change his plan.  When he and King Philip V of Macedonia leagues against the Egyptian king of tender years to take over his territories, the guardians of Ptolemy V turned to Rome for protection. Taking advantage of the opportunity to expand its sphere of influence, Rome flexed its muscles.

Under compulsion by Rome, Antiochus III brought terms of peace to the king of the south. Rather than surrendering conquered territories, as Rome had demanded, Antiochus III planned to make a nominal transfer of them by having his daughter  Cleopatra I-"the daughter of womankind"-marry Ptolemy V. Provinces that included Judah, "the land of Decoration," would be given as her dowry. At the marriage in 193 B.C.E., however, the Syrian king did not let these provinces go to Ptolemy V. this was a political marriage, formed to make Egypt  subject to Syria.  But the scheme failed because Cleopatra i did "not continue to be his," for she later sided with her husband. When war broke out between Antiochus III and the Romans, Egypt took the side of Rome. 

Referring to the reverses of the king of the north, the angel added:  "And he [Antiochus III] will turn is face back to the coastlands and will actually capture many.  And a commander [Rome] will have to make the reproach from him cease for himself [Rome}, so that his reproach [that of Antiochus III] will not be. He [Rome],m will make it turn back upon  that one. And he [Antiochus III] will turn his face back to the fortresses of his own land, and he will certainly stumble and fall, and he will not be found." -Daniel 11:18, 19. 

The "coastlands" were those of Macedonian, Greece, and Asia Minor. A war broke out in Greece in 192 B.C.E., and Antiochus III was induced to come to Greece. Displeased because of the Syrian king's efforts to capture additional territories there, Rome formally declared  war on him. At Thermopylae he suffered a defeat at Roman hands. About a year after losing the battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C.E., he had to give up everything in Greece, Asia Minor, and in areas west of the Taurus Mountains.  Rome exacted a heavy fine and established  it domination over the Syrian king of the north. Driven from Greece and Asia Minor and having lost nearly all his fleet, Antiochus III 'turned his face back to the fortresses of his own land,' Syria. The Romans had 'turned back upon him his reproach against them.' Antiochus III died while trying to rob a temple at Elymais, Persia, in 187 B.C.E. He thus 'fell'  in death and was succeeded by his son, Seleucus IV, the next king of the north. 

Next time: THE CONFLICT CONTINUES

From the book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999