In those times many will rise against the king of the South (Ptolemy V Epiphanes). The violent men among your own people (Jews who sided w/Antiochus III The Great) will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. Then the king of the North (Antiochus III The Great) will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. The invader (Antiochus III The Great) will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land (Israel) and will have the power to destroy it. ~ Daniel 11:14-16
Ptolemy V Epiphanes – South
- Ruled 203-181BC
- We will call him Ptolemy Epiphanes to distinguish him from Antiochus V Ephiphanes (ruler of the North) during part of Ptolemy Epiphanes’ reign
- He was only 5 years old when he became ruler
- When Philopator (King of the South) died, two men he was close to saw an opportunity to gain control. However, they were afraid Philopator’s wife would want to be queen, so they murdered her before she had even heard of her husband’s death.
- A general led a revolt, kidnapped Ptolemy Epiphanes and had him give a sign of some sort to have his mother’s murderers killed by a mob
- Judea passed from Ptolemy rule to Seleucid rule (from the South to the North) during this time
- Some Jews fought with Antiochus III The Great (the North) against Ptolemy Epiphanes.
- Ptolemy Epiphanes was able to keep control of Egypt
- The fortified city mentioned in verse 15 is the Port of Sidon. It’s north of Tyre in modern day Lebanon
- The ‘Beautiful Land’ is Israel
Time for Christmas at home! We were excited to head north, so we packed our bags and gifts and headed out, stopping for an overnight at a Drury Inn in Cincinnati. If you ever have the opportunity to stay at one of these reasonably priced, family-owned Inns, we highly recommend them. Welcoming staff, spotless rooms and public spaces, and free hot breakfast and dinner every day.
The following day, we completed our drive, stopping for 10 days at the Residence Inn in Akron, Ohio. This place offers you a lower rate if you sign a non-refundable agreement, which of course Blaine did. They offer free hot breakfast every morning. The public spaces were clean and beautifully decorated for Christmas, and for the most part, our room was clean. Except for the wide windowsills and bathroom shelves. For some reason, housekeeping didn’t find it necessary to clean these areas – for a very long time. Yes. I reported it, but after we’d gone ahead and cleaned them ourselves – and then put all the dishes in the dishwasher. Just in case. 😊
Friday, we set about visiting parents and completing some preparatory work for our family’s Christmas gathering on Sunday. Love and excitement was in the air and we (well mostly me) were giddy with it.
Saturday morning, I woke to find Blaine in distress.
Before we left Alabama, he’d checked the long-term weather for the deep south and found it satisfactory. But now, a deep freeze was predicted to move in and promising to last for four days. I’m talkin’ temperatures near single digits – sustained. For four days. We never in our wildest dreams considered the possibility that it would get that cold there! Our motorhome can’t survive that without winterizing it with antifreeze in the water lines. If we left it as is, our water heater, softener, water lines, faucets – anything to do with water – would’ve burst, causing extensive damage. No to mention what might have happened to other things – food stuffs, toiletries, etc. So, after a short discussion, Blaine and I made the difficult, but very necessary, decision to drive back south on Wednesday the 21st. The day before the storm was to hit.
Fortunately, my brother David agreed to celebrate Christmas with us.
That settled, we set about the rest of our preparations. And daughter-in-law, Shena shared more of the shenanigans by Peter the elf.
Sunday morning worship was a wonderful, soul-filling time with our Father! And then it was off to be with all 22 members of our family living in NE Ohio! It was a crazy, loving and fun time with excellent food, (of course) that didn’t last nearly long enough. Thank you to our son Kyle and his wife, Shena for hosting this year!
Who says white men can’t jump? lol
Since our time was being cut so short, we spent Monday with Blaine’s parents, and Tuesday with my mom. Before we knew it, it was time to go.
Through all this, God chose to bless us several ways. What if our family Christmas had been planned for the actual holiday weekend instead of the week before? In a surprise gift, the hotel agreed to fully refund us all the days we didn’t use! And everyone remained healthy while we were home.
I woke up Wednesday (travel day) to the realization that I’d completely lost my voice. I chocked it up to all kinds of things, but didn’t think much about it.
And then I proceeded to try to sleep in the car all day Wednesday. Of course, there was no real sleep going on, but my eyes were rarely open. We drove straight through for about 10 hours. I was all set to just come in and crawl into bed, but the place was already cold – just not freezing. So to stay warm, I figured I might as well be useful and unpack while Blaine got us set up and protected. Turned out to be an excellent decision, because I slept all day Thursday.
Turns out I have a cold. I can’t remember the last time I had a cold! I’m just thankful that no one else picked it up. I have no idea where it came from. So now, our Christmas weekend with David was in jeopardy. And in the meantime, we tried to stay warm.
Fortunately, by Saturday morning, I was able to tell David I was on the mend and he graciously extended the invitation to his home for dinner Saturday afternoon. We’d already made the plans that he’d cook Saturday and we’d cook Sunday, so it all worked out. No one wanted me near the food Saturday, so I just sat at the far end and watched the guys (mostly David) do all the work. 😊 Ham, green beans (cooked in beef broth and ham pieces), macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs and cranberry sauce, with cherry pie al a mode for dessert! Yummy! I don’t know why no one took a picture of the food.
Sunday, we served him prime rib, loaded baked potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts and turnips, and tossed salad. I’d made no-bake Anthe’s mint cheesecake bars, which I felt turned out really poorly. They were kinda rubbery for lack of a better description and I wondered if it was because the only cream cheese in the store was the less fat kind. The guys said it was good, but it didn’t meet my standards, so that recipe’s headed for the trash. The rest of the food this weekend was fantastic!
That, and the fact that we had a frozen line to the kitchen sink.
And that’s our Christmas.
Before I go, I want to share a great memory (which wasn’t so great at the time 😊). The women in my family (Grandma, Mom and her sister, Auntie and I) used to bake cookies together every year. One year, we were baking away at Grandma’s house. Chris was 5, Kyle was 3. I turned around, and there was Kyle, sucking green food coloring out of the bottle! His face and hands and shirt – not to mention the countertop – was covered in green. He looked a bit like a Martian for a few days. We can laugh about it now. Which is why, when I used the coloring for my dessert, I took a picture and sent it to Kyle. 😊
Tuesday, we’ll leave Alabama for the Florida panhandle. The weather promises to be well above freezing. 😊