THE TIDE TURNS

Like Daniel, we expectantly listen as Jehovah's angel next foretells: "The king of the south will embitter himself and will have to go forth and fight  with him, that is, with the king of the north; and he will certainly have a large crowd stand up, and the crowd will actually be given into the land  of that one." (Daniel 11:11)  With 75,000 troops, the king of the south, Ptolemy IV, moved northward against the enemy.   The Syrian king of the north, Antiochus III, had raised "a large crowd" of 68,000 to stand up against him.  But "the crowd" was "given into the hand" of the king of the south in battle at the coastal city of Raphia, not far from Egypt's border. 

The prophecy continues: "And the crowd will certainly be carried away.  His heart will become exalted, and he will actually cause tens of thousands to fall;but he will not use his strong position." (Daniel 11:12) Ptolemy IV, the king of the south, "carried away" 10,400 as prisoners.  The kings then made a treaty whereby Antiochus III kept his Syrian seaport of Seleucia but lost Phoenicia and Coele-Syria. Over this victory, the heart of the Egyptian  king of the south 'became exalted,' especially against Jehovah. Judah remained under the control of Ptolemy IV.  However, he did not "use his strong position" to follow up  his victory against the Syrian king of the north.  Instead, Ptolemy IV turned to a life of debauchery, and his five-year-old son, Ptolemy V, became the next king of the south some years before the death of Antiochus III. 

Next time: THE EXPLOITER RETURNS 

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