In our studying Daniel 11, we see the future of what is going to happen. Most of what the angel prophesied has already happened. We are moving into the period of the antichrist in the next few verses. The antichrist will be right before the return of Jesus. This period that we are studying was during the 400 years of silence. During this period God did not give us any Biblical scripture, but He was still working and was in control of the world.
The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against their Greek/Syrian oppressors in Israel, 167—160 BC, as well as a rejection of Hellenistic compromises in worship. The history of the Maccabean Revolt is found in 1 and 2 Maccabees and in the writings of Josephus. The origin of Hanukkah is traced back to the Maccabean Revolt.
Ptolemaic rule of Israel (Palestine) was tolerant of Jewish religious practices. However, the Seleucid Empire eventually won control of the area and began to curtail Jewish religious practices. In 175 BC, Antiochus IV came to power. He chose for himself the name Antiochus Epiphanes, which means “god manifest.” He began to persecute the Jews in earnest. He outlawed Jewish religious practices (including the observance of kosher food laws) and ordered the worship of the Greek god Zeus. His ultimate act of desecration, precipitating the Maccabean Revolt, was to sacrifice a pig to Zeus in the temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC.
Faithful Jewish opposition had been an undercurrent all along, but Antiochus’ overt act of desecration brought it to the surface, and the result was the Maccabean Revolt. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, led the organized resistance along with his five sons: John Gaddi, Simon Thassi, Eleazar Avaran, Jonathan Apphus, and Judas Maccabeus (Maccabeus comes from the Hebrew word for “hammer”). Mattathias started the rebellion by preventing a Jew from sacrificing to a pagan god and then killing an officer of the king. Mattathias escaped with his family to the hills where he was joined by many other faithful Jews. From there, they conducted guerilla warfare against the Seleucids, but much of their wrath was also directed against fellow Jews who had embraced Greek culture (Hellenized Jews). The rebels tore down pagan altars, circumcised boys, and forced Hellenized Jews to become “outlaws” with no rights or legal protection. Upon Mattathias’ death in 166 BC, his son Judas Maccabeus took command of the rebellion. Judas saw himself as a leader like Moses, Joshua, and Gideon.