Daniel 11:31-32

DANIEL—NOTE ON Daniel 11:31 Later in 167 B.C., Syrian forces came back to stop the Jewish religious practices. They entered the temple. They stopped the regular burnt offering, and on the fifteenth day of Chislev (December), 167 B.C., they set up an altar or idol devoted to Zeus (Jupiter) in the temple (the abomination that makes desolate; compare Daniel 9:27; Daniel 12:11). They then offered up sacrifices (likely swine) on the altar. This act is commonly called the “abomination of desolation,” which comes from the translation of the Greek phrase. This is the background for Jesus’ prediction of “the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel” (Matthew 24:15). Antiochus IV’s flattery enticed some of the Jews to turn against the covenant. But some faithful Jews (those who know their God) chose to stand strong and die rather than go against God’s laws, and many did die.