Ancient Totalitarianism

The politics of Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Daniel 11 devotes a lot of space devoted to the post-Alexander history of Israel. It’s one of the longest and most detailed prophecies in the Bible. Why?

In part, it’s because Israel faces an unprecedented political situation. The generals who inherited Alexander’s empire also inherited his ideology of conquest. According to the books of the Maccabees, Alexander is “militaristic, gaining kingship through conquest; he is a man of plunder, power, and pride” (Anathea Portier-Young, Apocalypse Against Empire, 50). The generals who succeeded Alexander carried on his method of ruling. They were fighting kings, marching at the head of their armies. War was the basis of kingship, and plunder the main source of treasure. Their coins and icons stressed military power.