“Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while. Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed.” Daniel 11:24-26
Antiochus seeking to enlarge his kingdom either through military devices or intrigue, Antiochus, like his fathers, robbed the richest places of the country under his control. He attacked his enemies “without warning” in a time of security or peace when the enemy did not expect him. Unlike his father, Antiochus IV did not use his wealth secured in this way for personal advantage so much as to buy favor with others and to secure their cooperation. The expression “scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods” indicates this distribution of the wealth he had secured. According to 1 Maccabees 3: 30, “He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts which he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings” . Among his military maneuvers were several expeditions against Egypt, which are indicated in verse 25. Which of the several expeditions this represents is of no importance, as this prophecy simply described in general the characteristics of Antiochus’s reign. The king of Egypt was defeated as indicated in the statement “but only for a time,” referring to the king of the south. Even those who should have supported him conspired against him as revealed in verse 26. The result was that, generally speaking, Antiochus was victorious over the Egyptians.”