Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 11:36

"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done." — Daniel 11:36 (ASV)

And the king shall do according to his will - He shall be absolute and supreme, and shall accomplish his purposes. This refers, it seems to me, beyond question, to Antiochus Epiphanes, and was exactly fulfilled in him. He accomplished his purposes in regard to the city and temple in the most arbitrary manner and was, in every respect, an absolute despot.

It should be said, however, that most Christian interpreters suppose that the allusion here to Antiochus ceases, and that henceforth, it refers to Antichrist. So Jerome, Gill, Bishop Newton, and others maintained; and Jerome says many of the Jews also understood it this way.

The only reason alleged for this is that there are things affirmed here of the “king” which could not be true of Antiochus. But, in opposition to this, it may be observed:

• That the allusion in the previous verses is undoubtedly to Antiochus Epiphanes.
• There is no indication of any “change,” for the prophetic narrative seems to proceed as if the allusion to the same person continued.
• The word “king” is not a word to be applied to Antichrist, as it is nowhere used of him.
• Such a transition, without any more decided marks of it, would not be in accordance with the usual method in the prophetic writings, leaving a plain prediction in the very midst of the description and passing on at once to a representation of one who would arise many hundreds of years later, and of whom the former could in no way be considered a type. The most obvious and honest way, therefore, of interpreting this is to refer it to Antiochus, and perhaps we will find that the difficulty of applying it to him is not insuperable.

And he shall exalt himself - No one can doubt that this will agree with Antiochus Epiphanes—a proud, haughty, absolute, and stern monarch, the purpose of whose reign was to exalt himself and to extend the limits of his empire.

And magnify himself above every god - That is, by directing what gods should or should not be worshipped, attempting to displace the claim of all those who were worshipped as gods at his pleasure, and establishing the worship of other gods in their place. Thus he assumed the right to determine what god should be worshipped in Jerusalem, abolishing the worship of Jehovah and setting up that of Jupiter Olympius in its place; and so throughout his whole dominion, by a proclamation, he forbade the worship of any god but his (Josephus, Antiquities, Book 12, Chapter 5, Sections 4 and 5).

One who assumes or claims the right to forbid the adoration of any particular god, and to order divine homage to be rendered to anyone which he chooses, exalts himself above the gods, as he in this way denies the right which they must be supposed to claim to prescribe their own worship.

And shall speak marvelous things - The Hebrew word nı̂p e lâ'ôth would properly denote things wonderful, or fitted to excite astonishment—things that are unusual and extraordinary. The meaning here is that the things spoken would be so impious and atrocious, so amazing and wonderful for their wickedness, as to produce amazement.

Against the God of gods - The true God, Jehovah; He is supreme and is superior to all that is called God or that is worshipped as such. Nothing could be more descriptive of Antiochus than this; nothing was ever more strikingly fulfilled in him than this was.

And shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished - This refers still to the fact that there was an appointed time during which this was to continue. That time might well be called a time of “indignation,” for the Lord seemed to be angry with His temple and people, and allowed this pagan king to pour out his wrath without measure against the temple, the city, and the whole land.

For that that is determined shall be done - What is purposed in regard to the city and temple, and to all other things, must be accomplished. . The angel here states a general truth—that all that God has ordained will come to pass. The application of this truth here is that the series of events must be allowed to run on, and it could not be expected that they would be arrested until all that had been determined in the Divine mind should be effected. Those who would suffer, therefore, in those times must wait with patience until the Divine purposes should be brought about; and when the period arrived, the calamities would cease.